AMERICAN' 


HISTORY 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


GIFT  OF 

Commodore  Byron  McCandless 


-*a£f$5s  s  *  i/nFT  "r* 


»»^Tv'®§0yKa»%*%'oa»'^^ 


/x 


AUNT  CHARLOTTE'S  STORIES 


OF 


AMERICAN   HISTORY. 


BY 

CHARLOTTE    M.    YONGE 

AND 

H.    HASTINGS    WELD,   D.  D 


WITH  NUMEROUS  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


NEW  YORK: 
D.    APPLETON    AND    COMPANY, 

I,   3,   AND    5    BOND    STREET. 


COPYRIGHT   BY 

D.   APPLETON  AND  COMPANY, 
1883. 


Vv, 

CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER 

I.—  THE  NATIVES  OF  AMERICA           . 

PAGE 
•           9 

II.—  THE  BEGINNING  OF  DISCOVERY.    968-1430  . 

16 

III.—  COLUMBUS.    1492-1506 

•    23 

IV.—  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  ALONZO  DE  OJEDA.     1499  . 

37 

V.—  PRINCESS  ANACAONA       .    . 

.     44 

VI.  —  THE  CURSE  OF  AMERICA.     1510 

5° 

VII.—  THE  FIRST  SIGHT  OF  THE  PACIFIC.     1513 

•      55 

VIII.—  THE  WAY  INTO  THE  PACIFIC.    1520 

63 

IX.  —  THE  AZTEC  EMPIRE.     1513 

.     69 

X.—  THE  CONQUEST  OF  MEXICO.     1521    . 

74 

XI.  —  THE  CONVERSION  OF  MEXICO.    1529 

•     83 

XII.—  THE  INCAS  OF  PERU.    1524    . 

89 

XIII.  —  THE  CONQUEST  OF  PERU.    1532    . 

•     94 

XIV.—  THE  CIVIL  WAR  IN  PERU.     1535 

1  02 

XV.  —  PROTECTION  FOR  THE  INDIANS.    1542-1566 

.    no 

XVI.—  ENGLISH  NORTH  AMERICAN  DISCOVERIES.     1524-1580    117 

XVII.  —  DISCOVERIES  ON  THE  EASTERN  COAST.     1536-1634 

.    125 

XVIII.—  ENGLISH  SAILORS  ON  THE  SPANISH  MAIN.    1584-1596    131 

4  Contents. 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

XIX. — THE  FIRST  NORTHERN  COLONIES.    1604-1618         .  138 

XX.— THE  PILGRIM  FATHERS.    1620-1637        .           .  149 

XXL— MISSIONARIES  IN  NORTH  AMERICA.    1626-1655       •  I5% 

XXII.— THE  SPREAD  OF  FRENCH  POWER.     1635-1675   .  168 

XXIII. — INDIAN  WARS.    1675-1704        .  .  .  .179 

XXIV.— THE  ENGLISH  CONQUEST  OF  CANADA.    1732-1762  193 
XXV.— EXPULSION  OF  THE  JESUITS  FROM  SOUTH  AMERICA. 

1750-1773      .  .  .  .  .  .208 

XXVI. — THE  THIRTEEN  COLONIES.    1762-1766    .           .  215 

XXVII. — THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION.    1765-1776    .           .  226 

XXVIII. — THE  WAR  OF  INDEPENDENCE.     1776-1778         .  245 

XXIX. — THE  WAR  OF  INDEPENDENCE.    1779-1781    .           .  255 

XXX. — THE  AMERICAN  REPUBLIC.    1782-1794   .           .  268 

XXXI. — THE  REVOLUTION  IN  HAITI.    1791-1803       .           .  281 

XXXII.— SPANISH  AMERICA.    1806-1808      .           .           .  290 

XXXIII. — THE  REVOLT  IN  SPANISH  AMERICA.    1807-1813     .  297 

XXXIV.— THE  LAKE  WAR.    1812-1814         •           •  3°3 

XXXV.— INDEPENDENCE   OF   LA  PLATA    AND   VENEZUELA. 

1812-1820      ......  316 

XXXVI. — INSURRECTION  IN  MEXICO.     1812-1820    .           .  322 

XXXVII. — THE  INDEPENDENCE  OF  MEXICO.    1820-1853          •  329 

XXXVIIL— THE  EMPEROR  MAXIMILIAN.     1858-1882            .  337 
XXXIX. — INDEPENDENCE    OF    CHILI,    PERU,    AND    BRAZIL. 

1817-1882            .....  343 

XL. — THE  EMANCIPATION  OF  NEGROES  IN  THE  ENGLISH 

ISLES.    1772-1838    .....  350 

XLI. — BOUNDARY  QUESTIONS.     1838-1848         .           .  360 

XLII. — DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  REPUBLICS    .           .           .  370 


Contents.  5 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

XLIII. — ARGENTINE  CONFEDERATION.  WAR  WITH  PARAGUAY. 

1835-1870  .                      ...  376 

XLIV. — NORTH  AND  SOUTH.     1848-1859.           .           .  .   384 

XLV. — SECESSION.     1860-1861            ....  397 

XLVI.— THE  WAR  OF  SECESSION.     1861-1862    .           .  .  404 

XLVII. — THE  WAR  OF  SECESSION.     1863-1864         .           .  414 

XLVIII. — DEFEAT  OF  THE  SOUTH.    1864-1865      .           .  .  424 

XLIX. — CONCLUSION     ......  435 


LIST   OF    ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PAGE 

INDIAN  MOUNDS         .           .           .           .           .           .  .10 

SCENES  IN  INDIAN  LIFE  .           .           .           .           .           .  12 

INDIAN  WIGWAM        .           .           .           .           .           .  -13 

FLEET  OF  COLUMBUS  SAILING  FROM  PALOS   ...  26 

RECEPTION  OF  COLUMBUS  BY  FERDINAND  AND  ISABELLA  .     30 

BALBOA'S  FIRST  SIGHT  OF  THE  PACIFIC         ...  60 

AZTEC  WARRIOR  AND  WOMAN        .           .           .           .  .     71 

SPANIARDS  DESTROYING  AN  AZTEC  IDOL        ...  76 

THE  MEETING  OF  CORTES  AND  MONTEZUMA       .           .  .78 

CORTES  DESTROYING  THE  IDOLS  AT  ZEMPOALLA      .           .  81 

PlZARRO   AND   HIS   MEN  .  .  .  .  .  .96 

QUEEN  ELIZABETH  KNIGHTING  DRAKE          .  .  .123 

POCAHONTAS   SAVING   CAPTAIN   SMITH  .  .  .  .141 

MARRIAGE  OF  POCAHONTAS       .....         143 
HENRY  HUDSON  ASCENDING  THE  HUDSON  RIVER          .  .   146 

LANDING  OF  THE  PILGRIM  FATHERS    .  .  .  .150 

PILGRIMS  MARCHING  TO  MEETING  .  .  .  .  -153 

DUTCH  COSTUMES  AND  BUILDINGS,  1620-1625  .  .         172 


List  of  Illustrations. 


PAGE 

PENN  TREATING  WITH  THE  INDIANS          .  .  .  .177 

PURITANS  ATTACKING  AN  INDIAN  FORT        .  .  .         183 

BLOCK-HOUSE,  FOR  DEFENSE  AGAINST  INDIANS   .  .  .   187 

GOVERNOR  OGLETHORPE  AND  THE  INDIANS  .  .  .194 

WASHINGTON'S  BIRTHPLACE  .....   199 

WASHINGTON'S  RESCUE  FROM  THE  ICE          .  .  .         200 

GENERAL  WOLFE'S  ARMY  ASCENDING  THE  HEIGHTS  OF  ABRAHAM  205 
SCENES  IN  ALBANY         .  .  .  .  .  .221 

PATRICK  HENRY  BEFORE  THE  VIRGINIA  ASSEMBLY  .  .  227 

THROWING  OVER  THE  TEA  IN  BOSTON  HARBOR  .  .  231 

THE  SKIRMISH  AT  CONCORD  ...  -235 

THROWING  UP  INTRENCHMENTS  ON  BREED'S  HILL  .  .  236 

JEFFERSON  READING  THE  DECLARATION  OF  INDEPENDENCE  IN 

COMMITTEE    .......   240 

FRANKLIN  PLEADING  THE  CAUSE  OF  AMERICA  BEFORE  THE 

FRENCH  KING  .  .  .  .  .  244 

WASHINGTON'S  RETREAT  THROUGH  NEW  JERSEY  .  .  247 

GENERAL  MARION  AND  HIS  MEN  ....  258 
THE  ARMY  IN  WINTER  QUARTERS  ....  262 

SURRENDER  AT  YORKTOWN  .....  267 
INAUGURATION  OF  WASHINGTON  AS  PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED 

STATES      .......         275 

PIONEER  LIFE  IN  KENTUCKY  .....  277 

MOUNT  VERNON    .......         303 

FIRST  STEAMBOAT  ON  THE  HUDSON          ....  305 

PERRY  LEAVING  HIS  FLAG-SHIP  AT  THE  BATTLE  OF  LAKE  ERIE    309 
FALL  OF  TECUMSEH    .......  310 

BATTLE  OF  NEW  ORLEANS  .  .  .  314 


8 


List  of  Illustrations. 


PAGE 

SCENE  IN  MEXICO       .......  328 

NEGRO  SLAVES  HARVESTING  SUGAR-CANE      .  .  -353 

BOMBARDMENT  OF  VERA  CRUZ       .....  366 

GOLD-DIGGING  IN  CALIFORNIA.  ....         368 

SCENE  ON  THE  ROAD-SIDE  IN  BRAZIL       .  .  .  .371 

A  COTTON  PLANTATION  .  .....         385 

SALT  LAKE  CITY         .  .  .  .  .  .  .392 

ATTACK  ON  FORT  SUMTER         ....  401 

GENERAL  JACKSON  AT  THE  HEAD  OF  HIS  BRIGADE       .  .  405 

SCENE  AT  THE  BATTLE  OF  ANTIETAM  .  .  .         409 

MONITOR  ATTACKING  THE  MERRIMAC       .  .  .  .416 

REPULSING  A  CHARGE  AT  THE  BATTLE  OF  GETTYSBURG    .        418 
ADMIRAL  FARRAGUT  IN  THE  MAINTOP     ....  428 

THE  CENTENNIAL  EXHIBITION  BUILDING      .  .  .         439 


STORIES  OF  AMERICAN  HISTORY. 


CHAP.  I.— THE   NATIVES   OF   AMERICA. 


the  time  that  Palestine  was  being  taught 
by  the  messengers  of  Heaven,  that  Greece  was 
finding  out  all  that  the  mind  of  man  could  accomplish, 
and  Rome  was  conquering  all  the  lands  she  knew  of; 
yes,  and  long  after  the  True  Light  had  been  known 
in  Palestine,  and  had  shone  over  the  world,  and  the 
Roman  Empire  had  been  broken  up  into  the  kingdoms 
of  Europe,  no  one  in  these  historic  nations  knew  any- 
thing of  the  lands  that  lay  on  the  other  side  of  the 
world. 

Indeed,  the  world  was  at  first  thought  to  be  a  flat 
circle,  where  nothing  but  clouds  and  mist  lay  beyond 
the  Atlantic  Ocean,  though  the  Greeks  had  some 
notions,  taken  perhaps  from  Phoenician  sailors,  that 
there  was  a  great  country  in  the  far  West,  which  they 


IO 


Stories  of  American  History. 


called  Atlantis.  The  Carthaginians  were  also  said  to 
have  found  a  great  island  which  lay  beyond  the  western 
seas.  This  island  figures,  in  tradition,  down  to  the 
time  of  Columbus  as  Antilla  ;  and  it  was  this  that 
it  was  supposed  Columbus  had  rediscovered.  But 
while  the  use  of  the  compass  was  not  known,  it  was 
impossible  to  sail  far  out  of  sight  of  land ;  and  what- 
ever may  have  been  learned  by  one  generation  was 
soon  forgotten  by  another.  Even  when  it  came  to  be 

believed  that  the 
world  was  a  globe, 
it  was  supposed 
that  the  Atlantic 
Ocean  reached  all 
round  from  Ire- 
land and  Spain  to 


India,  with  only  a 
few  scattered  isl- 
ands in  it  ;  and 
these  islands,  some 
people  said,  were 
the  tops  of  the 
mountains  in  the 
old  continent  of 
Atlantis,  which  had  sunk  beneath  the  sea. 

Nevertheless  there  was  not  only  a  great  continent, 


Indian  Mounds. 


The  Natives  of  America.  1 1 

but  it  was  full  of  inhabitants,  as  we  know  from  the 
remains  they  have  left.  Along  the  banks  of  the  rivers 
Mississippi  and  Ohio  are  curious  mounds,  containing 
rude  pottery,  stone  arrow-heads,  and  tools.  These 
must  be  very  ancient,  for  the  trees  which  stand  upon 
the  tops  of  the  mounds  are  the  growth  of  centuries. 
In  Central  America  there  are  wonderful  remains  of 
large  buildings  of  which  the  history  is  not  known. 
In  the  Territory  now  called  New  Mexico,  belonging  to 
the  United  States,  there  are  remains  of  walled  and 
fortified  villages  on  the  hills,  with  no  gateways.  The 
only  entrance  is  by  flights  of  stone  steps  on  the 
outside. 

There  was  a  great  empire  in  the  south  of  the 
Northern  Continent,  in  Mexico,  the  dominant  tribe  in 
which  was  the  Aztecs  ;  and  another  of  like  dense 
population  and  advanced  organization  in  Peru.  But 
the  main  body  of  the  two  American  continents,  when 
first  they  became  known  to  Europeans,  was  inhabited 
by  large  tribes  of  men,  living  a  wild  and  roving  life. 
They  had  copper-colored  skins,  high  cheek  -  bones, 
small  eyes,  and  straight  black  hair.  The  Northern 
Continent  had  two  leading  tribes — the  Iroquois,  or  Six 
Nations,  and  the  Algonquins.  There  were,  besides,  an 
immense  number  of  smaller  families  or  tribes,  who 
spoke  languages  that  were  constantly  becoming  more 


12 


Stories  of  American  History. 


different  from  each   other,  as  they  dropped  old  words 
and  formed  new,  and  generally  very  long  ones. 


Scenes  in  Indian  Life. 


Mostly   they  lived   by 
hunting.       The    men,    as 
^C]      "  braves,"  thought  nothing 
manly    but   war    and    the 
chase.     They  would  show   great   patience  in  bearing 


The  Natives  of  America. 


pain  without  a  murmur.  Their  great  glory  was  to 
bring  home  the  scalps  of  their  enemies.  If  they  made 
a  prisoner,  they  put  him  to  the  worst  tortures  they 
could  devise  ;  and  he  would  think  his  honor  saved 
if  he  could  bear  all, 
even  to  death,  with- 
out a  sigh  or  a  groan. 
The  wives,  or 
"  squaws,"  had  to  do 
all  the  work — dig- 
ging the  ground  to 
grow  maize,  beans, 
pumpkins,  tobacco, 
and  sunflowers  for 
the  sake  of  the  oil. 
To  the  squaws  fell 
the  preparing  of  the 
skins,  of  which  gar- 
ments were  made  ; 
carrying  burdens,  and 
setting  up  the  houses 
whenever  the  tribe 
moved ;  removal  tak- 
ing place  whenever  game  became  scarce  or  the  re- 
sources of  a  region  were  exhausted.  Their  houses, 
called  "wigwams"  (an  English  adaptation  of  two 


Indian  Wigwam. 


14  Stories  of  American  History. 

or  three  similar  Indian  words),  consisted,  in  many 
tribes,  of  large  sheets  of  bark  fastened  upon  stakes. 
Indeed,  birch -bark  was  one  of  their  most  valuable 
materials.  Of  it  they  made  canoes,  snow-shoes,  and 
baskets,  and  also  cases  in  which  their  infants  were 
packed  up  and  suspended  either  from  the  mother's 
back  or  from  the  branch  of  a  tree. 

The  tribes  had  chiefs,  and  matters  of  peace  or  war 
were  conducted  by  councils  with  great  ceremony  and 
deliberation.  Some  tribes  were  much  more  warlike 
than  others ;  some  lived  entirely  by  hunting,  some 
cultivated  the  ground  more  than  others,  some  fished ; 
but  in  general  character  and  appearance  they  were  all 
much  alike.  They  had  very  little  religion,  but  there 
was  a  common  belief  in  a  Great  Spirit ;  and  in  every 
tribe  there  was  at  least  one  medicine  -  man,  who 
dressed  himself  up  strangely,  and  used  wonderful 
incantations  to  discover  what  was  to  be  done  at  any 
difficult  moment.  Some  of  the  South  American  natives 
lived  in  strange  abodes,  raised  on  stages  high  among 
the  branches  of  the  mangrove-trees  that  fringe  the 
coast.  These  were  a  very  gentle  and  amiable  people, 
with  much  less  endurance  and  activity  than  their 
northern  brethren.  In  a  region  where  fruits  are  so 
abundant  by  Nature,  they  made  no  attempt  at  culti- 
vating the  soil. 


The  Natives  of  America.  15 

In  the  far  South  were  the  Patagonians,  a  rougher 
and  a  duller  race,  men  of  very  large  stature,  and  very 
wild  and  savage  in  their  ways.  Whence  these  races 
came,  and  how  they  settled  in  the  great  Western  Con- 
tinent, no  one  knows.  Some  may  have  come  by  the 
North,  where  the  Eastern  and  Western  Continents 
nearly  meet.  Others  may  have  made  their  way  by  the 
chain  of  islands  in  the  Pacific.  Or  there  may  be  some 
truth  in  the  story  of  the  lost  continent  of  Atlantis; 
and  there  may  have  been  traffic  with  Europe  before 
the  date  of  history.  At  any  rate,  many  of  these 
people,  in  especial  the  Aztecs,  had  a  tradition  that 
teachers  and  conquerors  should  come  from  the  East. 


CHAP.   II.—  THE    BEGINNING   OF 
DISCOVERY. 


968—1430. 

who  have  read  the  history  of  England  re- 
member  how  the  Northmen  and  Danes  used  to 
trouble  our  coasts.  These  people  were  great  sailors. 
They  settled  in  Iceland,  and,  going  on  farther  to  the 
West,  they  came,  somewhere  before  the  year  900,  to  a 
country  which  they  first  saw  in  the  summer,  when 
there  was  plenty  of  grass.  It  was  named  Greenland 
by  one  Eric  the  Red,  who  hoped  to  persuade  people 
to  follow  him  thither  when  he  settled  there.  They  set 
up  their  homes,  in  spite  of  the  cold  and  fogs,  to  which 
they  were  well  used  in  Iceland  and  Norway.  In  the 
year  986,  a  young  man  named  Biorn,  whose  father 
had  settled  in  Greenland,  sailed  to  follow  him,  but  lost 
his  way,  and  found  himself  on  the  coast  of  a  country 
of  small  hills,  covered  with  wood.  He  knew  that 
Greenland  was  mountainous,  and  had  no  wood  at  all  ; 


The  Beginning  of  Discovery.  1 7 

so  he  did  not  stay  there,  but  in  about  a  week's  time 
set  sail  for  his  father's  settlement  in  Greenland.  Some 
time  later,  about  the  year  1000,  the  son  of  Eric  the  Red, 
Lief  the  Lucky,  set  out  from  Greenland,  with  thirty- 
five  men,  among  whom  was  a  German,  to  find  the 
country  that  Biorn  had  described.  Going  to  the 
southwest,  they  saw  first  some  great  icy  mountains, 
with  a  plain  covered  with  flat  slaty  stones,  between 
the  mountains  and  the  sea.  Not  liking  this,  they 
coasted  along  till  they  saw  a  level  and  wooded  country  ; 
and  still  further  on,  after  two  days,  they  found  a  place 
where  a  river,  which  came  through  a  lake,  fell  into  the 
sea.  They  determined  to  winter  there,  cut  down  trees, 
and  build  themselves  log  huts.  One  day  the  German 
was  lost.  They  went  out  to  look  for  him,  and  met 
him,  rolling  his  eyes,  and  talking  to  himself  in  his  own 
language,  which  they  could  not  understand.  At  last, 
however,  he  came  to  himself,  and  they  found  he  was 
almost  wild  with  joy,  having  been  reminded  of  his 
own  land  by  coming  upon  a  spot  full  of  vines  bearing 
clusters  of  grapes.  They  called  the  place  Vineland, 
or  Vinland,  and  loaded  their  ships  with  the  timber, 
so  scarce  in  Iceland  and  Greenland,  where  no  trees 
grew. 

Two  years  later,  Lief  s  brother,  Thorvvald,  came  in 
search  of  more  wood,  and  the  place  pleased  him  so 


1 8  Stories  of  American  History. 

well,  he  said  he  should  like  to  stay  there.  He  returned 
the  next  year;  but  this  time  the  party  saw  three 
mounds  on  the  beach,  and,  going  up  to  them,  found 
that  what  had  been  taken  for  mounds  were  three 
canoes,  with  three  natives  hidden  under  each.  Like 
fierce  Northmen,  as  they  were,  they  killed  eight  of 
them.  One  escaped  in  his  canoe,  and  brought,  on  a 
night  soon  after,  the  whole  tribe  against  the  Northmen. 
A  fleet  of  the  savages  attacked  the  ship  on  which  the 
Northmen  were,  and  poured  upon  them  a  shower  of 
arrows.  The  natives  were  repulsed,  but  Thorwald  was 
mortally  wounded.  At  his  dying  request,  he  was 
buried  on  the  spot  he  had  liked  so  well,  and  the  next 
year  the  party  returned  to  Greenland.  Thorstein,  his 
brother,  sailed  from  Greenland,  with  his  wife  Gudrida, 
and  his  whole  family,  with  the  intention  of  bringing 
home  the  body  of  Thorwald.  But  Thorstein  did  not 
even  reach  Vineland.  Driven  by  a  storm  upon  an 
uninhabited  shore  of  Greenland,  he  was  compelled  to 
winter  there.  Want  and  fatigue  proved  fatal  to  him, 
and  to  several  of  his  crew.  In  the  spring,  Gudrida 
returned  home  with  the  dead  body  of  her  husband. 

However,  the  accounts  of  Vineland  induced  a  large 
party  of  Icelanders  to  try  to  make  a  home  there. 
Thorfinn  Karlsefne,  a  wealthy  Icelander,  married 
Gudrida,  and  set  sail  with  her  for  Vineland.  The 


The  Beginning  of  Discovery.  19 

expedition  was  embarked  in  three  ships,  carrying  one 
hundred  and  sixty  men  (some  with  wives),  and  was 
furnished  with  tools,  furniture,  and  cattle.  They  settled 
at  a  place  which  they  called  Hop.  Vineland  is  con- 
sidered by  antiquaries  to  have  been  in  or  near  the 
limits  of  the  present  State  of  Rhode  Island ;  and  the 
Hop  of  Thorfinn  is  claimed  to  be  the  present  Mount 
Hope.  The  Indian  name  of  the  eminence  was  Mon- 
taup,  and  it  can  only  be  connected  with  the  Hop  of 
Thorfinn  by  supposing  that  both  Northmen  and  the 
later  English  settlers,  with  an  interval  of  centuries  be- 
tween them,  adapted  the  native  name.  The  spot  was 
fruitful  in  native  products,  and  answered  generously  to 
cultivation.  Here  the  Northmen  built  log  houses, 
and  let  their  cattle  feed  upon  the  grass.  The  natives 
came  about  them,  and  brought  gray  furs  to  exchange 
for  cloth  and  milk-soup.  But  they  were  dreadfully 
frightened  at  the  first  hearing  of  the  lowing  of  the 
cattle,  and  all  ran  off.  After  a  while  they  took  courage, 
and  ventured  upon  another  attack,  such  as  they  had 
made  upon  Thorvvald.  They  were  beaten  off,  chiefly 
by  the  courage  and  readiness  of  Gudrida.  The  North- 
men remained  two  years  at  Hop.  Gudrida  had  there 
a  son  born — the  first  white  child  born  in  the  Western 
Hemisphere — whom  she  named  Snorro.  The  repeated 
attacks  of  the  natives  tired  the  Northmen  out,  and 


2O  Stories  of  American  History. 

they  returned  home,  enriched  with  the  valuable  furs 
and  woods  which  they  had  obtained.  Though  the 
precise  point  where  Thorfinn  landed  can  not  be  posi- 
tively determined,  there  can  be  no  doubt  of  the  general 
truth  of  the  story.  Snorro,  born  in  Vineland,  became 
the  head  of  an  illustrious  race  of  Icelandic  chiefs,  and 
to  his  grandson,  Bishop  Thorlak  Runolfson,  we  are 
probably  indebted  for  the  preservation  of  what  we 
know  about  these  early  voyages.  Gudrida,  after  her 
return  from  Vineland,  lived  with  Thorfinn  in  princely 
state.  After  her  husband's  death,  she  made  a  pilgrim- 
age to  Rome,  and  returned  to  pass  the  evening  of  her 
eventful  life  in  a  religious  retreat  which  her  western- 
born  son,  Snorro,  had  founded. 

In  the  year  1167,  when  Owen  Gwynned,  King  of 
North  Wales,  died,  there  was  a  dispute  among  his  chil- 
dren who  was  to  succeed  him.  One  of  his  sons,  named 
Madoc,  sailed  away  to  the  West  with  his  followers,  and 
after  some  years  came  back,  declaring  that  he  had  found 
a  beautiful  mountainous  country  across  the  sea.  Invit- 
ing men  to  follow  him,  he  embarked  with  a  large  party. 
No  more  was  heard  of  him.  Indeed,  after  the  North- 
men gave  up  their  long  voyages,  no  one  knew  or  cared 
much  about  the  Atlantic,  or  what  might  be  beyond  it. 
In  the  time  of  that  awful  sickness,  the  Black  Death, 
all  the  Danish  seamen  died  who  knew  how  to  reach 


The  Beginning  of  Discovery.  2 1 

the  coast  of  West  Greenland.  The  settlement  there, 
said  to  have  been  large  enough  for  a  bishop  and  several 
churches,  was  thought  to  have  perished.  But  recent 
discoverers  think  that  the  West  of  Greenland  never 
was  settled. 

The  romance  of  adventure  places  Robert  Macham, 
an  Englishman  who  lived  in  the  time  of  Edward  III, 
among  the  first  of  what  may  be  called  modern  dis- 
coverers, though  his  claim  rests  upon  accident,  not 
intention.  He  ran  away  with  a  young  lady  of  noble 
birth,  named  Anne  Dorset.  They  sailed  from  Bristol, 
meaning  to  go  to  France  ;  but  a  great  storm  arose, 
and  their  vessel  was  driven  before  it — Anne  in  utter 
dismay  at  the  punishment  that  had  followed  her  sin. 
At  last  they  came  to  a  lovely  island,  full  of  fine  trees 
and  beautiful  scenery.  They  landed,  to  refresh  them- 
selves ;  and,  another  storm  coming  on,  the  ship  broke 
from  her  moorings,  and  was  driven  out  to  sea  again. 
The  poor  lady,  in  horror  and  grief,  died  three  days 
later,  and  Macham  five  days  after,  broken-hearted. 
The  crew  buried  them  under  a  great  cross,  with  an 
inscription,  begging  any  good  Christian  who  should 
find  the  spot  to  build  a  church  over  their  remains. 

The  crew  left  the  island  in  the  ship's  boat,  were  cast 
upon  the  coast  of  Africa,  and  were  made  galley-slaves 
in  Morocco.  There  they  met  with  Juan  de  Morales, 


22  Stories  of  American  History. 

a  Spanish  pilot,  to  whom  they  told  their  sad  story. 
Whether  they  were  ever  released  from  slavery  does 
not  appear,  but  Morales  was.  When  quite  an  old 
man,  he  entered  the  service  of  Don  Enrique,  known  in 
history  as  Henry  the  Navigator.  Don  Enrique  was 
the  son  of  JoSo  I,  King  of  Portugal,  and  Philippa, 
daughter  of  John  of  Gaunt.  He  was  the  first  man  of 
modern  times  who  had  a  real  thirst  for  discovery,  and 
he  listened  eagerly  to  Morales.  Enrique  is  said  to 
have  been  the  first  to  apply  the  compass  to  the  pur- 
poses of  navigation.  He  sent  out  vessels  on  voyages 
of  discovery  from  time  to  time,  and  on  one  of  these 
voyages,  in  1419,  Madeira  was  discovered,  and  Porto 
Santo,  an  island  near  Madeira.  The  tradition  is  that 
the  bay  where  the  lovers  died  was  called  Macho,  after 
Macham.  The  isle  was  named  Madeira,  from  the 
Portuguese  name  for  wood.  The  Canary  and  Azore 
Isles  were  found  about  the  year  1450,  and  all  were 
held  by  the  King  of  Portugal.  But  what  Enrique 
cared  for  most  was  to  trace  round  the  coast  of  Africa, 
an  undertaking  accomplished  afterward  by  his  country- 
men. So  no  more  discoveries  to  the  westward  were 
at  that  time  made. 


CHAP.   III.— COLUMBUS. 


1492 — 15°6- 

MONG  the  brave  mariners  of  the  Italian  city  of 
Genoa  was  a  family  named  Colombo.  Several 
of  them  became  famous  captains,  and  fought  against 
the  pirates  in  the  Mediterranean.  One  of  the  family, 
named  Domenico,  though  himself  a  woolcomber,  had 
three  sons,  whose  names  are  connected  with  one  of 
the  most  important  events  in  the  history  of  the  world. 
Cristofero,  the  eldest,  took  early  to  the  sea.  Barto- 
lomeo  became  so  able  a  mathematician,  that  he  was 
appointed  a  map-maker  at  the  Court  of  Portugal, 
which  was  under  the  influence  of  Don  Enrique  (Henry 
the  Navigator),  the  great  center  of  maritime  enter- 
prise. Diego,  as  well  as  Bartolomeo,  shared  in  after- 
life in  the  honors  and  toils  of  their  brother,  whose 
Latinized  name  is  Christopher  Columbus.  Christopher 
soon  reached  the  command  of  a  vessel  in  a  squadron 
fitted  out  by  the  Colombo  family.  In  a  naval  en- 


24  Stories  of  American  History. 

gagement  his  vessel  took  fire,  and  he  saved  his 
life  by  jumping  overboard,  and,  with  the  aid  of  a 
plank,  swimming  ashore.  After  this  escape,  Columbus 
repaired  to  Lisbon,  where  he  joined  his  brother 
Bartolomeo  (Bartholomew)  in  his  work  as  a  map- 
maker.  By-and-by  he  married  Felipa,  the  only  daugh- 
ter of  a  navigator  who  had  shared,  in  the  service  of 
Don  Enrique,  in  the  discovery  of  Porto  Santo  and 
Madeira.  His  bride's  father  had  left  what  proved  to 
Columbus  a  rich  inheritance  in  nautical  instruments, 
besides  a  grant  of  Porto  Santo,  conferred  by  Don 
Enrique.  The  bridegroom  and  bride  sailed  to  take 
possession  of  their  islet,  hoping  to  do  great  things  with 
it ;  but  behold,  they  found  it  altogether  overrun  with 
rabbits,  which  ate  up  all  that  they  planted,  and  were  so 
numerous  that  it  proved  of  no  use  to  try  to  kill  them 
down.  So  after  about  a  year,  during  which  a  son, 
named  after  his  uncle,  Diego,  was  born,  they  left  Porto 
Santo  to  the  rabbits,  and  came  back  to  Lisbon,  where 
the  young  wife  soon  after  died. 

That  disappointment  about  his  island  was  the  begin- 
ning of  greater  things.  Columbus  had  seen  branches 
of  trees  cast  up  by  the  sea,  carved  bits  of  wood,  and 
bodies  of  birds,  all  plainly  coming  from  the  West  He 
thought  that  they  must  be  from  India.  As  the  Portu- 
guese were  striving  to  make  their  way  round  the  coast 


Columbus.  25 

of  Africa,  and  get  to  India  by  the  East,  he  believed 
that  he  could  find  a  much  shorter  way  by  the  West, 
if  only  he  had  ships  and  men.  It  was  the  hope  of  his 
heart  to  use  the  wealth  of  India  to  attack  the 
Mohammedan  power,  make  a  new  crusade,  and  deliver 
the  Holy  Land.  He  carried  his  plans  first  to  the 
chiefs  of  his  native  city,  Genoa ;  but  they  thought  him 
only  a  dreamer.  Then  he  went  to  Portugal,  but  the 
King,  to  whom  he  gave  a  detail  of  his  plans,  secretly 
sent  an  expedition,  which  returned  to  report  them  as 
vain  fancies.  He  next  tried  Spain,  but  a  great  war 
was  going  on,  and  no  one  was  inclined  to  listen  to 
him.  Traveling  on  foot  with  his  son  Diego,  to  seek 
his  brother-in-law,  who  resided  at  a  small  town  in 
Andalusia,  Columbus  stopped  at  the  gate  of  a  Fran- 
ciscan monastery  to  ask  food  and  drink  for  his  son. 
Fray  Juan  Perez,  the  Prior  of  the  monastery,  was 
attracted  by  the  appearance  of  the  stranger.  When 
the  heart  is  full  the  speech  is  ready,  and  Columbus 
poured  his  story  into  the  ears  of  one  who  could 
appreciate  his  pious  hopes.  Fray  Perez  detained  the 
wayfarer  as  his  guest.  He  procured  interviews  for 
him  with  the  navigators  of  the  neighboring  port  of 
Palos.  And  better  than  all,  Fray  Perez  brought 
influences  to  bear  which,  after  seventeen  years  of 
waiting,  secured  to  Columbus  a  friend  in  the  great  and 


26 


Stories  of  American  History. 


good  Isabella,  Queen  of  Castile  in  her  own  right,  and 
wife  of  Fernando,  King  of  Aragon.  She  aided  him 
with  means,  and  commissioned  him  to  fit  out  three 


Fleet  of  Columbus  sailing  from  Palos. 

vessels  for  the  voyage  of  western  discovery.  With 
these,  on  the  3d  of  August,  1492,  Christopher  Co- 
lumbus set  sail  from  the  port  of  Palos,  and  the  Fran- 
ciscan brothers  could  witness,  and  speed  with  their 
prayers,  the  wayfarer  whom  they  had  entertained,  now 
sailing  forth  as  High  Admiral  and  Viceroy  of  all  the 
lands  he  might  discover.  Columbus  had  sent  his 
brother  Bartholomew  to  England  ;  and  King  Henry 
invited  Columbus  thither.  But  Bartholomew  was  de- 


Columbus.  2  7 


tained  by  pirates,  and  meanwhile  Queen  Isabella  gave 
the  aid  required. 

It  would  require  too  long  to  tell  of  all  the  troubles 
of  Columbus  with  his  crews,  who  were  full  of  fright 
at  the  strange  currents  they  met,  and,  when  they  came 
to  the  many  acres  of  floating  sea-weed  brought  by  the 
Gulf  Stream,  thought  they  were  come  to  the  verge  of 
the  world,  and  would  perish  there.  If  Columbus  had 
not  been  one  of  the  most  patient  as  well  as  the  most 
daring  men  in  the  world,  he  would  have  turned  back 
long  before.  On  the  night  of  the  loth  of  October,  a 
light  was  seen  ;  and  in  the  morning  a  lovely  island 
appeared  with  a  white  beach,  luxuriant  palm-trees,  green 
sward,  and  a  lake  glittering  in  their  midst.  Columbus, 
full  of  thanksgiving,  landed,  and  dedicated  it  to  the 
Christian  faith,  by  planting  a  great  cross,  and  naming 
it  San  Salvador.  It  was  one  of  the  Bahama  Isles,  the 
northern  ones  that  close  in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  The 
natives  came  down  to  see  the  strange  people,  who  they 
thought  had  come  from  Heaven  in  their  white-winged 
ships.  They  were  gentle,  brown-skinned  people,  and 
Columbus  was  much  drawn  to  them,  and  hoped  to 
make  them  Christians.  But  his  crew — rough,  greedy 
sailors,  whom  he  picked  up  as  he  eould — only  thought 
of  the  bits  of  gold  they  wore,  and  asked,  by  signs, 
where  they  came  from.  They  were  understood  to 


28  Stories  of  American  History. 

answer  that  there  was  a  great  chief  in  Cubanacan,  who 
was  served  in  cups  and  plates  of  gold.  They  meant 
the  interior  of  the  great  island  of  Cuba,  but  the  sound 
of  the  word  made  the  discoverers  think  they  intended 
the  Khan  of  Tartary,  of  whom  all  Europe  had  heard, 
through  the  Venetians.  So,  making  sure  that  this 
place  was  a  little  isle  to  the  extreme  East  of  India, 
where  East  had  become  West,  the  Spaniards  called 
these  islands  the  West  Indies,  a  name  they  have  ever 
since  kept.  The  term  Indian  has  been  applied  to  all 
the  natives  of  the  whole  hemisphere,  except  those  of 
the  extreme  South. 

Columbus  sailed  from  one  lovely  island  to  another, 
and  making  the  discovery  of  the  island  of  Cuba,  coasted 
along  its  shores.  Sailing  from  Cuba,  he  found  the 
island  of  Haiti,  which  he  called  Hispaniola,  or  little 
Spain,  where  he  made  great  friends  with  a  good  and 
gentle  chief,  a  cacique  named  Guacanagari.  It  was 
impossible,  however,  to  keep  the  Spanish  sailors  in 
order.  They  cared  only  for  greed  and  pleasure,  and, 
the  moment  his  eye  was  off,  disobeyed  the  Italian 
stranger.  The  fleetest  of  his  ships  was  commanded 
by  Martin  Pinzon,  and  was  sailing  a  few  miles  in 
advance  of  Columbus,  when,  having  determined  to 
change  his  course,  he  signaled  to  Pinzon  to  follow. 
Pinzon  paid  no  heed.  Night  came  on,  and  in  the 


Columbus.  29 

morning  Pinzon  was  no  more  to  be  seen.  This  was 
on  the  i  gth  of  December,  1492.  On  the  morning  of 
the  25th,  Columbus  having  charged  the  officers  and 
pilot  of  his  vessel  to  keep  strict  watch,  retired  to  take 
rest,  and  was  awakened  by  the  striking  of  his  vessel 
on  a  shoal.  The  wreck,  which  was  on  the  coast  of 
Hispaniola,  was  complete,  and  Columbus  had  only  one 
of  his  three  vessels  left  and  that  the  smallest.  With 
the  assistance  of  Guacanagari,  Columbus  built  a  fort  of 
material  saved  from  the  timbers  of  the  wreck,  and  called 
it  La  Navidad  (the  Nativity),  in  honor  of  the  day  of 
his  escape ;  and  he  determined  to  return  to  Spain,  and 
defeat  the  treachery  of  which  he  suspected  Pinzon. 
The  design  of  the  runaway,  Columbus  thought,  was  to 
reach  Spain  before  his  commander,  and  defraud  him 
of  his  honors1  and  rewards.  He  left  thirty-four  men 
in  the  fort,  with  such  munitions  as  could  be  spared, 
charging  them  so  to  live,  till  his  return,  that  the  natives 
might  still  think  they  had  come  from  Heaven.  Alas ! 
so  far  were  the  garrison  from  heeding  him,  that  all 
except  their  captain  so  misused  the  natives  that  they 
rose  on  them,  and  killed  them  every  man.  Meantime, 
Columbus,  and  his  runaway  Pinzon,  both  sailed  into 
Palos  on  the  same  day,  the  i5th  of  March,  1493. 
Columbus  had  found  Pinzon  just  after  leaving  Navidad. 
They  had  stormy  passages,  sometimes  in  company,  and 


Stories  of  American  History. 


sometimes  separated ;  and  Columbus  never  quite  over- 
came his  distrust,  while  Pinzon  feared  arrest  for  dis- 
obedience. At  the  very  last  they  were  separated  by 


Reception  of  Columbus  by  Ferdinand  and  Isabella. 


a  storm.  Columbus  entered  Palos  at  noon.  Pinzon, 
unaware  of  his  arrival,  came  in  at  evening-.  All  Spain 
welcomed  Columbus.  When  he  came  to  the  court, 


Cohimbus.  3 1 

the  King  and  Queen  rose  to  receive  him,  and  honors 
of  all  kinds  were  heaped  upon  him.  A  coat  of  arms 
was  assigned  him,  to  which  was  annexed  the  motto : 
"  To  Castile  and  Leon,  Columbus  gave  a  new  world." 

A  new  expedition  was  fitted  out,  with  clergy  to 
convert  the  natives,  and  preparations  to  build  a  city  and 
found  an  empire  in  the  New  World.  Unfortunately, 
few  good  or  honorable  men  joined  in  these  schemes. 
Even  the  head  of  the  mission  priests,  Bernalo  Boyle, 
or  Boli,  was  a  hard-hearted  and  greedy  man,  who  had 
none  of  the  zeal  of  Columbus  to  win  souls  for  the 
Church  and  deliver  the  Holy  Land.  The  second 
expedition  set  sail  from  Cadiz,  on  the  25th  of  Sep- 
tember, 1493,  with  seventeen  vessels,  three  large  ships, 
and  fourteen  of  lesser  tonnage.  Touching  at  the 
Canaries,  they  proceeded  West,  till  on  Sunday,  the 
2d  of  November,  they  discovered  the  central  island 
of  the  group  known  as  the  Caribees.  It  was  called  by 
Columbus,  Dominica.  Several  other  islands  in  the 
group  were  visited,  and  suspicious  signs  were  found 
that  the  natives  were  man-eaters.  The  word  cannibal 
is  supposed  to  be  a  corruption  of  Caribee,  or  Caribal. 
The  natives  of  the  Caribee  group  were  found  to  be  far 
fiercer  than  those  of  San  Salvador  and  Hispaniola. 
From  the  Caribee  islands  the  fleet  sailed  to  the  bay  of 
Navidad,  Hispaniola,  trusting  to  be  welcomed  by  their 


32  Stories  of  American  History. 

friends  in  the  garrison,  but  finding  only  the  ruins  and 
ashes  of  the  dismantled  fort.  Not  a  man  was  left  to 
give  the  Spanish  version  of  the  disaster. 

A  city  was  founded  in  Hispaniola,  named  Isabella, 
after  the  Queen.  Explorations  by  land  and  sea  were 
made,  in  one  of  which  the  island  of  Jamaica  was 
discovered.  Mines  were  opened ;  but  with  the  de- 
velopment of  enterprise,  came  also  the  growth  of 
faction  and  enmity  toward  Columbus.  There  was  a 
disposition  among  the  Spaniards  to  treat  the  Genoese 
as  a  foreigner.  Evil  reports  against  him  were  sent  to 
Spain,  and  among  the  authors  of  these  was  Father 
Boli.  Columbus  remained,  as  long  and  as  far  as  he 
could,  the  protector  of  the  Indians.  He  strove  to 
think  charitably  of  Guacanagari,  who  claimed,  and 
with  good  show  of  evidence,  that  the  destruction  of 
Navidad  was  the  work  of  another  tribe.  The  pre- 
ponderance of  testimony  seems  to  be  in  his  favor,  as 
he  died  in  poverty,  and  in  the  contempt  of  his  own 
people.  The  more  Columbus  tried  to  protect  the 
Indians,  the  more  the  Spaniards  hated  him.  The 
result  of  their  representations  was  that  Don  Juan 
Aguado  was  sent  from  Spain,  as  commissioner,  to 
examine  and  report  upon  the  condition  of  things. 
Aguado  was  selected  as  a  friend  of  Columbus ;  but 
proceeded  in  a  spirit  so  arrogant  and  unfriendly,  that 

v 


Columbus.  33 

Columbus  decided  to  return  with  him,  and  defend 
himself.  This  he  did,  leaving  his  brother  Bartholomew 
in  command  of  Hispaniola,  with  his  other  brother, 
Diego,  to  succeed  him  in  case  of  his  death.  On  the 
nth  of  June,  1496,  Columbus  landed,  with  Aguado,  at 
Cadiz.  His  reception  by  Ferdinand  and  Isabella  was, 
contrary  to  his  fears,  highly  favorable.  He  was  loaded 
with  honors,  and  his  heirs  were  entitled  to  bear  his  coat 
of  arms,  with  its  honorable  motto.  For  all  this,  so  per- 
sistent were  his  enemies,  that  it  was  not  till  May,  1498, 
that  he  sailed  from  Spain  on  his  third  voyage  of  dis- 
covery. 

On  this  third  voyage  Columbus  discovered  the 
large  island  near  the  mouth  of  the  Orinoco,  which 
still  retains  the  name  which  he  gave  it,  Trinidad.  It 
was  the  first  time  the  continent  was  reached  ;  but 
though  Columbus  saw  the  mainland  at  the  distance, 
he  fancied  it  to  be  an  island.  He  inferred,  rather  than 
knew,  the  existence  of  the  great  river  Orinoco,  and 
followed  the  coast  of  Trinidad  through  the  fearful 
straits,  to  which  he  gave  the  names  of  the  Dragon's 
Mouth  and  the  Serpent's  Mouth.  The  great  difficulty 
in  passing  them  was  caused  by  strong  currents.  From 
the  freshness  of  the  water,  which  poured  from  the 
mouths  of  the  Orinoco,  Columbus  judged  that  only  a 
continent  could  supply  such  streams.  Columbus  was 
3 


34  Stories  of  American  History. 

disposed  to  think  that  he  was  near  the  object  of  his 
search,  the  Indies,  and  that  he  should  reach  that 
country  if  he  went  along  the  coast,  to  the  northwest. 
Indeed,  he  persuaded  himself  that  this  was  the  Indian 
Ophir,  from  which  Solomon  obtained  the  gold  of  the 
Temple.  But  the  great  Admiral  was  growing  old, 
and  was  ill  with  the  gout,  and  he  was  forced  to  make 
for  the  settlement  in  Hispaniola.  He  found  Hispa- 
niola  in  a  sad  state.  The  Spaniards  had  provoked 
wars  with  the  natives,  and  were  at  discord  among 
themselves.  The  ground  was  untilled,  and  the  whites 
found  it  impossible  to  work  in  the  tropical  climate. 
Columbus  then  decided  that  the  Indian  prisoners  had 
better  be  put  in  charge  of  the  Spanish  settlers,  to  do 
their  work,  and  learn  Christianity  and  civilized  ways. 
This  was  so  reported  to  Queen  Isabella,  that  she 
thought  he  was  making  slaves  of  her  subjects  the  na- 
tives. A  commissioner,  Francisco  de  Bobadilla,  was 
sent  from  Spain,  who  exceeded  his  authority,  and  at 
the  instance  of  the  enemies  of  Columbus,  sent  him  and 
his  brothers,  Bartholomew  and  Diego,  home  in  chains. 
No  sooner,  however,  was  he  able  to  explain  matters  to 
the  Queen,  than  she  understood  how  cruelly  he  had 
been  wronged,  burst  into  tears,  and  besought  his  par- 
don. It  was  at  the  end  of  the  year  1500  that  Colum- 
bus returned  to  Spain.  Old  as  he  was,  he  longed  to 


Columbus.  35 

pursue  the  track  he  thought  he  had  found.  After  over 
a  year's  delay,  he  prevailed  to  be  sent  out  a  fourth 
time,  though  the  King  forbade  him  to  set  foot  on  His- 
paniola.  In  this  last  voyage,  Columbus  sailed  along 
the  coast  of  Veragua,  vainly  seeking  the  outlet  to 
India,  which  he  had  expected  to  find.  The  glimpses 
of  the  continent  which^  he  had  seen  were  supposed  to 
indicate  islands.  At  length,  after  a  storm  of  eighty- 
eight  days,  with  his  vessels  shattered,  and  disease  and 
discontent  among  his  crews,  he  was  forced  to  change 
his  course  and  return.  He  reached  Jamaica,  upon 
the  shore  of  which  island  he  stranded  his  unseaworthy 
vessels,  and,  with  his  crews,  lived  on  the  wrecks.  In 
two  canoes,  bought  of  the  Indians,  and  strengthened, 
the  perilous  voyage  was  made  to  Hispaniola  by  mes- 
sengers begging  for  relief.  For  seven  months  Colum- 
bus did  not  know  whether  his  messengers  had  reached 
Hispaniola.  It  was  a  year  before  the  vessels  arrived 
to  his  relief,  in  which  he  sailed  to  Hispaniola.  Thence, 
after  a  month's  stay,  he  sailed  for  Spain,  reaching  Se- 
ville, after  a  tempestuous  passage,  in  November,  1504. 
Ill  and  worn  out,  the  first  tidings  that  met  him  were 
that  the  good  Queen  Isabella  was  dying.  All  his  hope 
was  over  now.  He  knew  he  should  never  lead  his 
Indian  crusade  to  free  the  Holy  Sepulchre,  and  that 
his  plans  of  making  Christian  men  of  the  Indians  had 


Stories  of  American  History. 


brought  misery  and  slavery  on  them.  A  few  more 
months  passed  of  weary  striving  for  his  rights.  His 
health  entirely  broke,  and  he  died  at  Valladolid,  on  the 
2Oth  of  May,  Ascension  day,  1506,  being  about  seventy 
years  of  age.  His  two  sons  kept  the  motto  and  coat 
of  arms  which  had  been  assigned  to  him. 


CHAP.   IV.— THE   ADVENTURES   OF 
ALONZO    DE   OJEDA. 

1499- 

IT  was  an  Italian  who  found  the  great  Western 
Continent,  and  it  was  another  Italian  whose  name 
it  bears.  In  1499,  a  Florentine  merchant,  named 
Amerigo  Vespucci,  set  forth  on  an  expedition,  com- 
manded by  a  brave  and  daring  Spanish  gentleman, 
Alonzo  de  Ojeda,  who  had  been  with  Columbus  on 
his  second  voyage.  Hearing  of  the  great  Admiral's 
third  voyage  along  the  Gulf  of  Paria,  Ojeda  persuaded 
the  rich  merchants  of  Seville  to  fit  out  four  ships,  with 
which  he  hoped  to  bring  them  home  more  gold  than 
the  islands  had  yet  produced.  Ojeda  was  a  very  small 
man,  but  wonderfully  brave,  daring,  and  spirited.  He 
was  withal  very  devout,  and  carried  about  with  him  a 
little  picture  of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  which,  he  thought, 
shielded  him  from  all  hurt.  Amerigo  Vespucci  wrote 
an  account  of  this  expedition,  and  therefore  it  was  that 


38  Stories  of  American  History. 

his  name  came  to  be  given  to  the  lands  he  beheld. 
After  passing  the  Isle  of  Trinidad  and  the  Dragon's 
Mouth,  the  ships  came  to  a  bay  filled  with  tranquil 
water.  In  this  bay  were  bell-shaped  houses,  built 
upon  piles  driven  into  the  sand,  communicating  with 
the  shore  by  drawbridges,  and  by  canoes,  which  were 
drawn  up  around  the  houses.  This  place,  the  Indian 
name  of  which  was  Coquibacoa,  the  discoverers  called 
Venezuela,  or  little  Venice.  The  Indians  were  very 
fine,  handsome  people,  armed  with  bows  and  arrows. 
They  fought  with  the  strangers,  but  were  worsted. 
Ojeda  did  not  gain  much  by  his  voyage.  He  returned 
to  Spain,  and,  through  his  personal  friends,  obtained 
the  appointment  of  Governor  of  Coquibacoa.  His 
second  voyage  ended  in  his  arrest  by  his  partners,  and 
a  lawsuit,  by  which,  though  successful,  he  was  left 
penniless.  It  had  now,  despite  the  misfortunes  of 
discoverers,  become  the  fashion  for  every  one  who  was 
adventurous,  to  set  out  on  a  westward  voyage  to  seek 
the  land  of  gold.  El  Dorado,  the  place  of  gold,  was 
thought  to  be  somewhere  in  the  West.  Ship  after 
ship  was  fitted  out  in  quest  of  it,  and  each  surveyed  a 
bit  more  of  the  coast  of  South  America,  and  generally 
taught  the  Indians  more  and  more  hatred  of  the  white 
man.  Of  a  third  voyage  which  Ojeda  is  said  to  have 
made  there  are  no  records.  For  several  years  he 


The  Adventures  of  Alonzo  de  Ojeda.          39 

remained  in  obscurity.  But,  in  1509,  King  Ferdinand 
of  Spain  was  induced  to  send  out  four  ships,  with  three 
hundred  men,  to  found  a  settlement  in  the  place  where 
Columbus  thought  he  had  discovered  the  gold  of 
Ophir.  The  settlement  was  to  be  called  Carthagena, 
or  New  Carthage.  Ojeda  joined  the  expedition  at 
Hispaniola,  commissioned  as  governor  of  a  province 
to  be  called  New  Andalusia.  Among  the  men  en- 
gaged in  this  expedition  were  two  of  whom  we  shall 
hear  much  later — Fernando  Cortes  and  Francisco 
Pizarro.  The  former,  however,  had  to  be  left  at 
Hispaniola,  because  of  an  inflammation  in  his  knee. 
Juan  de  la  Cosa,  a  most  accomplished  pilot,  familiar 
with  the  coasts  and  seas  to  be  explored,  and  who  had 
visited  Spain  to  forward  the  enterprise,  came  out  with 
the  ship  to  join  in  the  voyage.  Under  the  guidance 
of  the  veteran  pilot,  the  ships  anchored,  in  the  autumn 
of  1509,  in  the  bay  of  Carthagena.  Cosa,  who  had 
touched  at  the  place  on  a  former  voyage,  warned  Ojeda 
that  the  natives  were  Caribs,  and  very  fierce,  using 
great  palm-wood  swords,  osier  shields,  and  poisoned 
arrows,  and  the  women  fighting  as  well  as  the  men. 
He  advised  going  on  to  the  Gulf  of  Uraba,  where,  he 
thought,  the  natives  were  less  ferocious,  and  did  not 
poison  their  weapons ;  but  Ojeda  would  not  heed  ad- 
vice, and  advanced  into  the  country.  A  body  of  In- 


40  Stories  of  American  History. 

dians  met  him,  whereupon  he  charged  a  priest  to  read 
a  paper  taking  possession  of  the  country,  and  then 
held  up  presents,  and  tried  to  make  friends.  The  In- 
dians would  not  listen,  blew  war  notes  on  their  conch- 
shells,  and  drew  their  bows.  After  a  sharp  fight,  the 
Spaniards  gained  a  victory ;  but,  against  old  Cosa's 
advice,  pursued  the  flying  enemy  too  far  inland. 
Other  Indians  joined  the  foe  in  great  numbers. 
Ojeda  was  cut  off,  and,  with  a  few  men,  obliged  to 
defend  himself  in  a  hut,  where  he  would  have  been 
overpowered,  if  faithful  Cosa  had  not  come  to  the 
rescue.  Cosa  defended  the  door,  while  Ojeda  sprang 
forth  on  the  enemy,  cut  his  way  through  them,  and 
dashed  out  of  sight.  Then  Cosa  and  one  other  man 
attempted  to  regain  the  ships,  but  Cosa,  who  had  been 
pierced  by  several  poisoned  arrows,  sank  down  on  the 
way,  and  died.  His  companion  was  the  only  man,  of 
seventy,  who  reached  the  ships.  There  the  crews 
waited,  watched,  and  searched  the  shores  for  the 
others,  till,  after  many  days,  they  came  to  a  great 
wood  of  mangroves,  curious  trees  which  grow  in  the 
water,  but  with  roots  rising  far  above  the  surface, 
before  the  trunk  begins,  so  that  there  is  a  great  matted 
thicket  half  under  the  sea.  There  they  thought  they 
saw  a  man  in  Spanish  clothing,  and  found  Ojeda, 
lying  speechless  with  hunger  and  fatigue  on  the  matted 


The  Adventures  of  Alonzo  de  Ojeda.          41 

roots ;  his  sword  in  his  hand,  and  his  shield  on  his 
arm,  without  a  wound,  though  there  were  the  marks 
of  three  hundred  arrows  on  his  shield.  On  his  re- 
covery, he  followed  the  advice  which  Cosa  had  given, 
sailed  to  the  bay  of  Uraba,  and  founded  there  a  city, 
which  he  named  St.  Sebastian,  but  he  did  not  find  the 
country  much  more  favorable.  The  vegetation  was 
beautiful,  but  the  forests  were  full  of  wild  beasts  and 
venomous  serpents,  and  the  rivers  were  full  of  alli- 
gators, so  large  that  they  could  kill  a  horse.  Ojeda 
built  here  a  fortress,  and  surrounded  his  settlement 
with  a  stockade.  The  Indians  swarmed  around  it,  and 
shot  down  the  Spaniards  who  came  out  in  search  of 
food,  and  the  poisoned  arrows  caused  death  in  terri- 
ble agony.  Ojeda  had  never  yet  been  struck.  He 
thought  himself  under  the  special  care  of  the  Blessed 
Virgin,  and  the  Indians  thought  he  was  protected  by 
some  spell.  They  told  off  their  four  best  archers  to 
watch  and  hit  him.  Three  of  their  arrows  glanced 
from  his  shield,  but  the  fourth  arrow  pierced  his  thigh. 
Even  then,  his  dauntless  spirit  was  not  broken.  He 
caused  two  plates  of  iron  to  be  heated  red-hot,  and 
placed  on  each  side  of  the  wound,  and  endured  the 
horrible  agony  without  a  groan,  and  without  being 
held.  Afterward  he  lay  in  sheets  steeped  in  vinegar, 
to  allay  the  heat  that  raged  through  his  whole  body ; 


42  Stories  of  American  History. 

and  this  strange  treatment  cured  him.  While  he  was 
disabled,  a  runaway  party  arrived  from  Hispaniola, 
fancying  he  was  getting  rich.  But  when  they  saw 
the  misery  of  the  colonists,  they  had  no  wish  to  stay 
there,  and  Ojeda  resolved  to  go  back  in  their  ship,  and 
obtain  the  supplies  so  much  needed  at  St.  Sebastian. 
The  crew  were  a  set  of  wretches  who  put  him  in  irons. 
As  soon  as  a  storm  rose,  they  were  forced  to  let  him 
loose  again,  as  he  was  the  only  man  on  board  who 
could  manage  a  ship  in  danger.  All  that  even  he 
could  do  was  to  run  the  shattered  wreck  aground  on 
the  island  of  Cuba.  Here  was  no  Spanish  settlement, 
but  the  natives  had  heard  enough  of  the  white  men  to 
hate  them,  and  drive  them  away.  They  had  to  toil 
through  swamps,  which  were  frightfully  deep ;  the 
route  furnished  nothing  to  eat  or  to  drink,  for  these 
marshes  were  salt.  All  day  long  they  struggled 
through  water  up  to  their  waists,  and  at  night  climbed 
into  mangrove-trees  to  sleep.  Every  day  some  were 
drowned  or  smothered  in  the  mud,  and  the  food 
brought  from  the  ship  was  scarcely  eatable.  Still  at 
each  pause  Ojeda  knelt  and  prayed,  and  he  made  a 
vow  that,  if  he  were  saved  this  time,  he  would  build 
a  chapel,  and  set  up  his  picture  of  Our  Lady  among 
the  heathen.  After  thirty  days  of  misery  in  the 
swamps,  Ojeda,  with  a  very  few,  survived,  and  found 


The  Adventures  of  Alonzo  de  Ojeda.          43 

a  path  which  led  them  to  a  village  of  friendly  natives, 
who  sheltered  and  nursed  them,  nay,  treated  them  like 
angels.  And  here  Ojeda  raised  a  little  hut,  where  he 
hung  his  picture,  and  bade  the  Indians  take  care  of  it, 
till  he  should  come  back  to  found  a  church.  Then  he 
and  the  others  made  their  way  to  Jamaica  in  canoes. 
Thence  he  returned  to  Hispaniola,  but  he  never  could 
obtain  means  of  going  back  to  St.  Sebastian,  or  of 
building  his  church.  He  was  a  ruined  man ;  and  it  is 
said  that  he  ended  by  taking  the  vows  of  the  Brothers 
of  St.  Francis,  and  died  as  one  of  that  order.  Though 
proud  and  passionate,  he  was  one  of  the  best  of  the 
Spanish  adventurers. 


CHAP.  V.— PRINCESS  ANACAONA. 

HE  mountains  of  Cibao,  in  the  midst  of  the  island 
of  Hispaniola,  and  the  rivers  flowing  from  them, 
were  found  to  contain  gold.  Columbus  explored  this 
region  in  1494.  A  settlement  was  formed  by  him  for 
working  the  mines,  and  a  fort,  called  San  Thomas, 
built  for  the  protection  of  the  miners.  The  city  and 
bishopric  of  San  Domingo  were  founded  four  years 
later,  and  the  name  had  spread  to  the  whole  island. 

The  difficulties  of  government  were  great.  Crowds 
of  needy  Spaniards  came  out,  wanting  gold  first  and 
land  next,  and  when  they  had  land  they  wanted  people 
to  till  it.  At  home  Queen  Isabella  had  been  most 
anxious  for  the  good  of  the  poor  Indians.  So  was  the 
council  who  governed  Castile,  after  the  death  of 
Isabella,  in  behalf  of  poor  mad  Juana,  daughter  of 
Ferdinand  and  Isabella.  Bishops,  priests,  and  brethren 
of  the  preaching  orders  of  St.  Francis  and  St.  Dominic 
were  sent  out  to  convert  the  natives.  But  nothing 


Princess  Anacaona.  45 

good  could  be  done  in  the  presence  of  the  Spanish 
settlers.  They  would  attack  and  offend  the  Indians 
by  their  pride  and  greed  of  gold,  which,  indeed,  some 
of  the  natives  thought  was  the  white  man's  god.  Then 
the  Indians  were  stirred  up,  and  even  in  the  time  of 
Columbus  it  was  necessary  to  take  the  field  against 
them,  as  they  were  reported  to  be  forming  a  league 
against  the  Spaniards.  There  were  murders  and 
fightings,  and  when  the  white  men  gained  the  advan- 
tage, as  with  their  fire-arms  and  horses  they  were  sure 
to  do,  they  took  many  prisoners,  and  received  the 
submission  of  tribes.  Then,  considering  the  great 
need  of  workmen,  Columbus  had  thought  it  fair  to 
make  these  captives  work  ;  portioning  off  a  chief  and 
his  family  on  what  was  called  a  repartimiento  to  a 
Spanish  settler.  The  settler  was,  in  return  for  their 
labor,  to  teach  them  the  Christian  faith  and  habits. 
But  this  arrangement  generally  ended  in  the  Spaniards 
teaching  them  nothing  but  hard  work  in  the  mines,  of 
which  they  died. 

In  Spain  orders  and  orders  were  given  for  the  pro- 
tection of  the  poor  Indians ;  and  governors  were 
chosen  in  the  hope  that  they  would  restrain  the  greedy 
settlers.  But  these  governors  no  sooner  touched  the 
western  soil  than  they  seemed  to  catch  the  same  in- 
fection of  cruelty.  Nicolas  de  Ovando,  who  came  out 


46  Stories  of  American  History. 

as  governor  of  Hispaniola  in  1502,  was  one  of  the 
worst  and  most  cruel  of  these  men.  The  first  news 
that  met  Ovando  on  landing  was  that  an  enormous 
nugget  of  gold,  worth  about  2,000  dollars,  had  been 
raked  out  at  the  mines,  by  an  Indian  woman  ;  and  that 
there  was  a  rising  of  the  Indians,  so  that  there  would 
be  plenty  of  slaves.  Almost  every  one  who  had  come 
out  with  Ovando  rushed  off  to  the  mines.  There  they 
could  get  no  wholesome  food,  fell  sick,  and  died  in 
large  numbers.  Sensible  people  soon  perceived  that 
the  men  who  sought  for  gold  were  only  wretched  and 
miserable,  while  those  who  cultivated  the  ground  soon 
grew  rich  on  that  very  gold.  But  farmers  and  gold- 
diggers  were  equally  savage  to  the  poor  Indians  ;  and 
when  the  beaten,  overworked  wretches  ran  away,  they 
were  hunted  down  with  great  Spanish  bloodhounds, 
which  often  tore  them  to  pieces  in  a  most  horrible  way. 
Of  all  the  piteous  stories  of  savage  things  done  in  that 
island  of  Hispaniola,  perhaps  the  most  grievous  is  that 
of  the  Princess  Anacaona. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  the  friendly  cacique, 
Guacanagari,  represented  to  Columbus  that  the  de- 
struction of  the  fortress  Navidad  was  the  work  of 
another  but  unfriendly  cacique.  The  name  of  this 
cacique  was  Caonabo.  He  remained  to  the  last  the 
foe  of  the  Spaniards,  fomenting  plots  and  instigating 


Princess  Anacaona.  47 

wars  against  them.  He  is  said  to  have  been  of  Carib 
birth,  a  race  more  fierce  and  warlike  than  the  Indians 
of  Hispaniola,  over  whom  he  appears  to  have  exerted 
great  influence.  He  was  deceived,  made  captive  by  a 
stratagem,  and  placed  on  board  a  vessel  to  be  sent  to 
Spain,  but  died  on  the  passage.  The  wife  of  Caonabo 
was  Anacaona,  a  princess  celebrated  for  beauty  and 
accomplishments.  Her  brother,  Behechio,  was  cacique 
of  Xaragua,  a  large  district  at  the  western  extremity  of 
the  island,  and  with  him  Anacaona  retired  after  the 
defeat  of  Caonabo  and  his  confederate  caciques. 

Anacaona  is  said  to  have  been  sensible  that  her 
husband  had  provoked  the  enmity  of  the  Spaniards, 
and  to  have  retained  the  admiration  for  them  with 
which  the  Indians  first  saw  them.  She  was,  moreover, 
wise  enough  to  perceive  that  resistance  against  them 
was  hopeless.  She  had  great  influence  over  her 
brother,  was  beloved  by  his  subjects,  and  when  Behe- 
chio died,  succeeded  him  in  the  government ;  always 
restraining  her  people  from  intercourse  with  the  Span- 
iards. It  was  believed  or  pretended  that  she  was  plan- 
ning a  revolt.  Thereupon  Ovando  set  out  for  Xaragua 
with  three  hundred  foot-soldiers  and  seventy  horsemen 
fully  armed,  under  the  pretext  that  he  was  coming  to 
make  a  friendly  visit.  Anacaona  received  him  after 
the  hospitable  custom  of  her  tribe ;  coming  out  to 


48  Stories  of  American  History. 

meet  him  at  the  head  of  all  her  chief  kindred,  the  maid- 
ens dancing  and  waving  palms  before  him,  and  greet- 
ing him  with  songs.  Perhaps  these  songs  of  welcome 
were  of  her  own  composing ;  for  it  is  said  of  her  that 
she  was,  in  her  native  fashion,  a  poet.  She  lodged  him 
in  the  largest  house  in  her  beautiful  village,  among 
the  palms  and  bananas,  and  entertained  him  day  after 
day  with  feasts,  songs,  and  dances,  as  she  had  always 
treated  her  white  visitors. 

It  is  to  be  hoped  that  it  was  really  true  that  Ovando 
fancied  she  meant  to  betray  him.  But  even  if  that 
were  true,  he  acted  with  frightful  cruelty  and  treach- 
ery ;  for  she  had  not  done  a  single  unfriendly  act  when 
he  arranged  his  plot.  He  offered  to  show  off  the  Span- 
ish sports ;  and  on  Sunday,  after  dinner,  in  the  central 
place  in  the  village,  his  horsemen  tilted  against  each 
other  with  long  reeds,  in  the  Moorish  fashion,  and  one 
of  them  made  his  horse  curvet  and  dance  to  the  music 
of  a  viol.  Suddenly,  while  all  the  Indians  were  gazing 
at  the  sight,  Ovando  gave  the  signal,  by  touching  a 
gold  medal  which  hung  around  his  neck.  His  soldiers 
sprang  upon  the  defenseless  people,  bound  the  caciques 
to  the  posts  of  the  house,  and  put  them  to  horrible 
tortures  to  force  them  to  confess  their  queen's  alleged 
plot.  The  poor  caciques  said  whatever  the  Spaniards 
wished,  to  free  themselves  from  the  pain ;  but  it  served 


Princess  Anacaona.  49 

them  little,  for  they  were  all,  eighty-four  in  number, 
burned  or  hanged.  Queen  Anacaona  herself  was  taken 
in  chains  to  San  Domingo.  There  she  had  the  form 
of  a  trial,  and  was  condemned  and  executed  on  the 
forced  confessions  of  her  tortured  subjects.  All  her 
people  were  massacred,  or  made  prisoners  to  work  in 
cruel  slavery,  except  a  few  who  escaped  in  their  canoe^. 
For  months  the  district  of  Xaragua  was  ravaged  by 
the  Spaniards ;  and  the  region  which  had  lately  been 
a  perfect  paradise  of  beauty  and  delight  was  made  a 
place  of  slaughter  and  a  wilderness.  Ovando  founded 
a  city  in  Xaragua,  which  he  called  "  St.  Mary  of  True 
Peace."  These  horrible  deeds,  crowned  by  sacrilege, 
were  done  in  1503. 


CHAP.   VI.— THE  CURSE   OF   AMERICA. 

1510. 

\A7"HEREVER  the  Christian  religion  is  taught, 
^  ^  there  is  sure  to  be  a  witness  against  wicked- 
ness, even  if  it  is  not  intended  to.  The  Domini- 
can Friars  looked  on  with  horror  at  the  treatment 
of  the  Indians,  and  one  of  them,  Father  Antonio 
Montesino,  preached  two  sermons,  setting  before  the 
Spaniards  the  exceeding  wickedness  of  their  behav- 
ior in  the  sight  of  God.  The  hearers  came  to  the 
monastery  in  a  great  rage,  but  they  got  little  comfort 
there ;  for  these  good  friars  told  them  that  they  would 
give  the  Sacraments  to  no  man  who  went  out  hunting 
and  making  slaves  of  the  Indians. 

The  settlers  minded  this  the  less,  because  the 
brethren  of  the  order  of  St.  Francis  always  took  the 
contrary  side  from  those  of  St.  Dominic.  The 
Franciscans  said  that  the  heathen  men  had  no  right 
to  be  free ;  and  that  enslaving  them  was  the  best 
chance  of  making  them  Christians.  At  last,  Brother 


The  Curse  of  America.  51 

Antonio  went  to  Spain,  and  told  the  King,  to  his 
face,  horrible  stories  which  his  governors  had  kept 
from  him ;  how  thirteen  Indians  had  been  hanged  in  a 
row,  how  many  were  hunted  and  torn  by  dogs,  how 
they  were  worked  to  death  under  the  lash  in  the 
mines ;  and  how,  when  there  were  too  few  left  to 
work  in  the  gold  diggings  in  Hispaniola,  ships  were 
sent  to  the  Lucayan  Islands  to  persuade  the  poor 
natives  to  come  to  the  Isles  of  the  Blest,  where  the 
spirits  of  their  ancestors  lived !  He  told  how,  purely 
in  sport,  a  Spaniard  had  picked  up  a  little  Indian 
child,  and  thrown  it  over  the  heads  of  the  by- 
standers, into  the  sea,  laughing  and  joking  as  it  came 
two  or  three  times  to  the  surface. 

The  King's  anger  was  hot  when  he  heard  these 
things  of  the  people  whom  his  good  Queen  had  loved 
and  hoped  to  win  for  Christ.  A  council  was  held  at 
Burgos,  and  laws  were  made,  not  taking  away  the 
custom  of  making  the  Indians  work,  but  trying  to 
hinder  all  the  horrid  injustice  and  cruelty.  At  the 
same  time  negroes  began  to  be  brought  to  the  islands. 
Ever  since  the  time  when  the  Portuguese  began 
sailing  to  the  African  coast,  they  had  made  their  chief 
profit  from  the  sale  of  negroes,  whom  they  had  taken, 
as  the  Spaniards  did  the  Indians,  under  the  pretense 
of  teaching  them  to  be  Christians.  In  1510,  the 


52  Stories  of  American  History. 

Genoese  merchants  brought  the  first  negroes  to 
Hispaniola,  and  they  were  soon  found  to  bear  work 
in  that  climate  much  better  than  the  Indians  ;  and  did 
not  run  away,  because,  poor  things,  they  had  nowhere 
to  run  to.  They  were  much  more  tame  and  less 
dangerous  than  the  Caribs,  and  thus  the  Spaniards 
preferred  them  ;  and  the  great  sin  and  curse  of  Amer- 
ica was  begun,  by  the  constant  habit  of  obtaining 
blacks  from  the  coasts  of  Guinea  by  stealing,  or,  more 
often,  by  buying  them  from  hostile  tribes,  and  carrying 
them  over  to  work  in  the  West  Indies. 

The  settlements  there  had  begun  to  spread  into 
the  great  Island  of  Cuba.  Two  friends,  a  gentleman 
named  Pedro  de  Rentezia,  and  a  young  priest,  Barto- 
lome  de  las  Casas,  had  a  grant  in  Cuba,  and  a  reparti- 
miento  of  Indians.  They  were  good  and  kindly  men, 
but  had  not  thought  of  trying  to  convert  their  Indians, 
or  troubled  themselves  about  the  crime  of  making 
them  slaves.  There  was  only  one  other  priest  in  the 
island,  and  Las  Casas,  though  he  had  hitherto  been 
more  of  a  farmer  than  a  clergyman,  was  sometimes 
obliged  to  preach.  As  he  was  preparing  a  sermon,  he 
came  upon  the  thirty-fourth  chapter  of  Ecclesiasticus, 
and  there  read  :  "He  that  sacrificed!  of  a  thing  unlaw- 
fully gotten,  his  offering  is  ridiculous,  and  the  gifts  of 
unjust  men  are  not  accepted.  The  Most  High  is  not 


The  Curse  of  America.  53 

pleased  with  the  offerings  of  the  wicked,  neither  is  He 
pacified  for  sin  by  the  multitude  of  sacrifices.  Whoso 
bringeth  an  offering  of  the  goods  of  the  poor,  doeth  as 
one  that  killeth  the  son  before  the  father's  eyes." 
What,  then,  thought  Las  Casas,  must  God  think  of 
the  treatment  of  the  Indians  ?  He  remembered  how 
one  of  the  good  friars  in  Hispaniola  had  refused  to 
give  him  absolution  while  he  kept  Indians  in  servi- 
tude. He  had  then  been  angry,  and  thought  it  ab- 
surd ;  but  now  the  good  seed  had  borne  fruit,  and  he 
resolved,  in  the  first  place,  to  give  up  all  his  own  In- 
dians. He  had,  however,  to  wait  till  his  mate,  Ren- 
tezia,  should  return  from  Jamaica,  where  he  had  gone 
to  another  Spanish  colony  on  business,  and  he  was 
very  anxious  to  know  whether  his  friend  would  consent. 
Rentezia  had  been  spending  Lent  there,  and  had  gone 
into  retreat  in  a  convent.  During  this  quiet  time,  it 
had  likewise  been  borne  in  on  him  how  great  was  their 
sin  toward  the  poor  natives.  He  had  come  to  the  con- 
clusion that  it  was  their  duty  to  give  up  slave-keeping, 
and  to  try  to  found  colleges  and  schools,  where  the 
young,  at  least,  might  be  taught  the  Christian  faith. 

The  two  good  men  were  delighted  to  find  them- 
selves thus  agreed,  and  they  resolved  to  sell  their 
farm,  and  use  the  proceeds  for  the  teaching  of  the 
Indians.  Las  Casas  went  home  to  lay  the  case  of  the 


54  Stories  of  American  History. 

Indians  before  the  King.  Ferdinand  was  then  an  old 
man,  and  he  died  soon  after  the  arrival  of  Las  Casas, 
in  1516.  His  poor  daughter  Juana  was  mad,  and  her 
son  Charles  reigned  over  the  kingdoms  of  Spain  and 
the  Indies.  If  edicts  at  home  could  have  done  any 
good,  the  Indians  would  have  been  free  men,  well 
and  gently  trained  in  Christian  ways.  But  the  isles 
were  far  off,  and  full  of  greedy  men,  who  paid  no  atten- 
tion to  the  laws  at  home.  The  only  one  they  cared 
to  carry  out  was  one  that  Las  Casas  had  unfortu- 
nately recommended,  hoping  to  benefit  the  Indians, 
namely,  that  each  white  man  should  be  licensed  to 
import  a  dozen  negro  slaves.  The  good  man  grieved 
for  it  afterward,  and  perceived  that  to  steal  and  en- 
slave negroes  was  quite  as  cruel  and  unjust  as  to  do 
the  same  by  Indians.  He  spent  his  life  in  struggling 
hard  to  teach,  console,  and  protect  the  Indians,  but 
always  in  vain.  He  went  from  one  place  to  another, 
tried  one  experiment  after  another,  and  failed  again 
and  again.  As  time  went  on,  the  Indian  race  perished 
under  the  savage  brutality  of  the  gold-hunting  Span- 
iards in  the  West  Indian  Islands ;  while  negroes 
snatched  from  the  coast  of  Africa  filled  up  the  place 
they  had  left  empty ;  and  gangs  of  black  slaves 
worked  in  the  gold-mines,  pearl-fisheries,  and  planta- 
tions of  sugar,  spices,  and  cotton. 


CHAP.   VIL—  THE   FIRST    SIGHT   OF    THE 

PACIFIC. 


/TV  HERE  was  coming  out  from  Hispaniola,  under 
-L  the  leadership  of  a  lawyer  named  Enciso,  a  fresh 
party  to  assist  in  founding  the  colony  of  St.  Sebastian 
on  the  coast  of  South  America.  Alonzo  de  Ojeda, 
who  attempted  that  settlement,  had  invited  Enciso  to 
join  him,  and  tendered  him  the  office  of  alcalde  in  the 
new  city.  The  expedition  of  Enciso  had  not  been 
long  at  sea  when  the  crew  of  one  of  the  vessels  were 
amazed  by  a  large  cask  which  stood  on  deck  suddenly 
being  opened.  Out  of  it  came  Vasco  Nunez  de  Bal- 
boa, a  Spanish  gentleman  who  had  been  a  settler  in 
Hispaniola,  and  had  there  got  into  debt  and  difficulty, 
from  which  he  was  thus  making  his  escape. 

Enciso  was  not  at  all  pleased  with  the  mode  in 
which  this  volunteer  showed  himself,  but  Vasco  over- 
came his  anger,  and  was  the  more  acceptable  since  he 


56  Stories  of  American  History. 

had  the  experience  of  a  previous  voyage  along  the 
coast.  The  expedition  touched  at  the  harbor  of  Car- 
thagena,  where  Ojeda  met  so  hostile  a  reception,  but 
managed  to  avoid  collision  with  the  natives.  Enciso 
was  here  surprised  by  the  arrival  of  a  vessel  in  com- 
mand of  Francisco  Pizarro,  whom  Ojeda  had  left  as 
his  deputy  at  St.  Sebastian.  The  vessel  had  on  board 
all  who  survived  of  the  garrison  of  St.  Sebastian,  hav- 
ing been  compelled  by  starvation  and  danger  to  aban- 
don that  post.  Enciso,  by  his  authority  as  alcalde  of 
St.  Sebastian,  induced  Pizarro  and  his  men  to  return 
to  that  post  with  him.  They  found  the  fort  disman- 
tled, the  climate  dreadful,  and  the  natives  so  fierce  that 
it  was  no  use  to  stay  there.  Vasco  advised  moving  on 
to  the  river  of  Darien,  where  the  natives  were  less  fierce, 
and  did  not  poison  their  arrows.  The  advice  was 
taken,  the  move  was  made,  and  the  Spaniards  drove 
the  Indians  from  a  village  on  the  banks  of  the  River 
Darien.  Enciso  took  possession  of  the  place,  and  gave 
it  the  name  of  Santa  Maria.  The  colonists  soon  di- 
vided into  factions.  Vasco  and  Enciso  quarreled,  and 
at  last  Vasco,  who  was  the  favorite  of  the  soldiers, 
threw  Enciso  into  prison,  for,  as  he  said,  taking  the 
government  without  proper  appointment.  Enciso, 
however,  had  friends  powerful  enough  to  oblige  Vasco 
to  let  him  go  back  to  Spain  and  plead  his  cause. 


The  First  Sight  of  the  Pacific.  57 

Left  alone  in  the  command,  Vasco  de  Balboa  made 
a  visit  to  Careta,  Cacique  of  Coyba,  who  hospitably  re- 
ceived him.  He  repaid  his  kindness  by  returning  at 
night  after  a  pretended  departure,  seizing  the  cacique, 
his  wives  and  children,  loading  two  vessels  with 
plunder,  and  taking  his  captives  and  his  booty  with 
him  to  Santa  Maria.  He  showed  to  his  prisoner  his 
war-horses,  armor,  and  guns,  and  the  Indian  was  so  im- 
pressed with  the  power  of  the  Spaniard,  that  he  offered 
him  his  daughter  as  the  price  and  pledge  of  peace. 
Balboa,  seeing  the  convenience  of  an  alliance  with  a 
powerful  chieftain,  accepted  the  daughter ;  and  a  com- 
pact was  made  by  which  the  chieftain  agreed  to  furnish 
food  for  the  colonists,  and  Balboa  to  subdue  the  chief- 
tain's enemy,  with  whom  he  was  then  at  war.  Balboa 
performed  his  part  of  the  contract,  subduing  the  ca- 
cique his  father-in-law's  enemy,  and  ravaging  his  terri- 
tory. He  was  royally  entertained  after  his  victory  by 
Careta. 

Balboa  next  paid  a  visit  to  a  friendly  cacique  named 
Comagre,  who  hospitably  welcomed  him,  and  showed 
him  his  palace.  It  was  a  wonderful  place,  one  hundred 
and  fifty  paces  long  and  eighty  broad,  founded  on  great 
logs,  surrounded  with  a  stone  wall,  and  covered  with  a 
beautifully  carved  roof.  It  had  many  chambers  for 
different  kinds  of  stores ;  and  one  hall  contained  the 


58  Stories  of  American  History. 

remains  of  the  cacique's  family,  which  had  been  dried 
in  the  fire  and  then  wrapped  in  cotton,  adorned  with 
gold  and  precious  stones,  and  hung  up  by  cords.  The 
cacique  gave  Balboa  four  thousand  ounces  of  gold  made 
up  into  ornaments.  Of  this  he  weighed  out  a  fifth  for 
the  King's  share,  and  divided  the  rest  in  equal  shares 
with  his  followers.  The  cacique  was  surprised  and 
shocked  at  their  fierce  eagerness  over  the  division. 
He  pointed  to  the  south,  and  told  Balboa  that  if  he 
cared  so  much  for  gold,  he  would  find  abundance 
beyond  the  mountains.  From  their  tops  could  be 
seen  a  mighty  sea,  and  all  the  streams  that  flowed  into 
it  so  abounded  in  gold  that  the  kings  who  reigned 
there  used  only  golden  vessels,  and  indeed  gold  was 
as  common  among  them  as  iron  was  among  the 
Spaniards. 

He  added  that  the  way  was  difficult  and  dangerous, 
and  beset  with  cannibal  Indians ;  but  all  this  was 
nothing  to  Vasco.  He  sent  for  provisions  and  recruits 
to  Don  Diego,  son  of  Christopher  Columbus,  who  was 
then  governing  at  St.  Domingo,  in  Hispaniola.  Mean- 
while he  received  private  advices  from  Spain  that 
Enciso  had  succeeded  in  the  suit  against  him,  and  that 
he  would  be  summoned  to  Spain  to  answer  criminal 
charges.  He  wras  resolved  to  set  forth  before  the 
official  news  should  arrive,  or  factions  at  Darien  pre- 


The  First  Sight  of  the  Pacific.  59 

vent  him.  He  moved  on  the  expedition  with  one 
hundred  and  ninety  of  his  bravest  men,  a  number  of 
Indians  furnished  by  the  cacique  his  father-in-law,  and 
also  a  pack  of  bloodhounds.  These  terrible  dogs  had 
been  trained  by  the  cruel  Spaniards  to  hunt  down  and 
fly  at  the  poor  runaway  Indians,  and  were  looked  on 
by  them  with  the  utmost  horror  and  dread.  Vasco 
Nunez  had  one  of  these  dogs,  named  Leonico,  im- 
mensely strong,  tawny,  with  a  black  muzzle ;  and  so 
brave  and  so  much  feared  by  the  Indians,  that  when 
his  master  lent  him  to  a  plundering  party,  he  received 
for  him  a  share  of  the  booty  equal  to  that  of  a  man-at- 
arms. 

The  journey  was  a  very  hard  one.  The  Spaniards 
had  to  climb  rugged  precipices,  and  fight  with  tribes 
of  Indians ;  and  so  many  men  were  lost,  or  had  to  be 
sent  back  to  the  village  of  the  friendly  cacique,  that 
only  sixty-seven  men  were  with  Vasco  Nunez  when, 
on  the  26th  of  September,  1513,  he  climbed  the  last 
height  alone,  and  beheld  before  him  the  unbroken  ex- 
panse of  the  mighty  Western  Ocean.  He  called  his 
followers  to  his  side,  pointed  it  out,  and  bade  them 
thank  God.  A  friar  who  was  among  them  led  the  Te 
Deum  of  rejoicing,  and  a  list  was  drawn  up  of  those 
who  first  beheld  this  great  sight.  The  names  of 
Ferdinand,  King  of  Aragon,  and  his  daughter  Juana, 


6o 


Stories  of  American  History. 


Queen    of   Castile,  were    carved    on    the   great  trees 
around. 


The  Spaniards  had 
still  a  long  way  to  go 
before  they  reached 
the  shores  of  the  great 
sea.  They  fought 
with  an  Indian  ca- 
cique named  Chiapes,  but  overcame  him,  and  Vasco 
Nunez  made  him  into  a  warm  friend.  When  at  last 


Balboa's  First  Sight  of  tJie  Pacific. 


The  First  Sight  of  the  Pacific,  61 

he  came  to  the  shore,  Balboa  waded  into  the  water 
above  his  knees,  and  took  possession  of  the  ocean  for 
the  sovereigns  of  Spain.  The  spot  was  in  the  Bay 
of  Panama,  close  to  the  Gulf  of  San  Miguel,  the 
name  given  by  Vasco  Nunez  himself,  intending  to 
consecrate  the  mighty  ocean  to  St.  Michael,  the  arch- 
angel. After  a  time  Vasco  undertook  to  build  a  fleet 
with  which  to  navigate  the  Western  or  Pacific  Ocean. 
He  caused  the  timber  to  be  cut  and  prepared  at  Acla, 
a  town  founded  at  a  port  in  the  country  of  his  father- 
in-law.  Careta  favored  his  purpose,  and  accorded  as- 
sistance. The  ship-timber  and  other  material  was  car- 
ried on  the  backs  of  Indians  over  the  mountains  and 
across  the  Isthmus  of  Darien.  It  was  a  cruel  scheme, 
for  the  work  was  far  too  hard  for  the  Indians  whom  he 
forced  into  doing  it,  supplying  their  places  with  others 
as  fast  as  they  died  of  the  toil. 

Meanwhile,  the  representations  of  Enciso  at  the 
court  of  Spain  had  resulted  in  the  appointment  of  Don 
Pedro  Arias  Davila,  commonly  called  Pedrarias,  as 
Governor  of  Darien,  with  power  to  depose  Vasco 
Nunez  and  call  him  to  account  for  his  treatment  of 
Enciso.  After  the  sailing  of  Pedrarias  from  Spain  the 
messengers  from  Nunez  arrived  there,  bringing  news 
of  his  great  discovery,  and  presents  to  the  King  of 
pearls  and  golden  ornaments.  Pedrarias  arrived  at  his 


62  Stories  of  American  History. 

new  government,  and  proved  harsh  and  cruel  to  the 
Indians.  Now  Vasco  knew  how  to  make  them  trust 
him,  and  be  friendly ;  and  the  contrast  between  the 
two  Spanish  commanders  added  daily  to  their  mutual 
dislike.  Before  Pedrarias  could  attempt  to  depose  a 
popular  favorite,  a  commission  arrived  from  Spain 
appointing  Vasco  Nunez  de  Balboa,  Adelantado  or 
Lieutenant  in  the  government,  in  recognition  of  his 
valuable  discoveries  and  successes.  Pedrarias  was  im- 
placable. He  induced  Balboa  to  leave  the  Pacific 
coast,  where  he  had  begun  to  make  explorations  in  his 
new  ships.  He  invited  him  to  a  friendly  conference  at 
Acla,  where  Francisco  Pizarro  was  deputed  to  arrest 
him.  He  was  accused  as  a  traitor  and  usurper  of  the 
territories  of  the  Spanish  Crown,  and  of  an  intention 
to  put  to  sea  with  the  squadron  in  the  Pacific  and  defy 
the  governor.  Upon  these  charges  Vasco  Nunez  was 
convicted  and  beheaded,  with  four  of  his  friends.  Thus 
perished  this'  brave  and  generally  kind  and  faithful 
man,  one  of  the  most  illustrious  of  the  Spanish  adven- 
turers, when  only  forty-two  years  old,  and  just  about 
to  sail  on  the  great  ocean  he  had  discovered. 


CHAP.   VIII.— THE   WAY    INTO   THE 
PACIFIC. 

1520. 

HE  kings  who  had  refused  to  attend  to  Columbus 
«*•  were  much  disappointed  when  they  found  how 
far  from  a  mere  wild-goose  chase  his  plans  had  been. 
Henry  VII  of  England  had  sent  out  an  expedition, 
under  a  Venetian  father  and  son,  named  Cabot,  who, 
in  i496-*98,  touched  at  the  island  which  still  bears  the 
name  of  Newfoundland,  and  coasted  along  the  conti- 
nent of  North  America,  from  Labrador  to  Florida. 
As  no  signs  of  gold  were  found,  nothing  more  was  for 
some  time  done  by  the  English. 

The  Portuguese  king,  Don  Manuel,  was  also  eager 
to  make  discoveries.  Vasco  de  Gama  had  rounded 
Africa,  and  Pope  Eugene  IV  had  granted  the  Portu- 
guese a  right  to  all  the  new  lands  they  might  discover. 
This  power  the  Popes  claimed  as  Vicars  of  Christ,  be- 
cause of  those  prophecies  of  the  Old  Testament,  which 


64  Stories  of  American  History. 

speak  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ  stretching  to  the  east 
and  west,  from  one  sea  to  another.  Ferdinand  and 
Isabella  asked  also  the  papal  sanction,  and  Pope 
Alexander  VI  fixed  as  a  boundary  a  line  running 
from  pole  to  pole,  three  hundred  leagues  to  the  west- 
ward of  the  Azores.  All  the  lands  eastward  of  this 
were  granted  to  Portugal,  and  all  to  the  westward  to 
Spain. 

An  expedition  was  sent  out  from  Portugal  in  1500, 
under  Dom  Pedro  Alvarez  Cabral.  It  was  intended 
to  go  to  India,  and  was  sent  off  in  great  state  from 
Lisbon,  with  solemn  blessings  by  the  clergy,  the  com- 
mander receiving  a  cap  sent  by  the  Pope  himself. 
However,  when  they  had  passed  the  Cape  Verd 
Islands,  a  strong  wind  drove  them  away  from  Africa, 
across  the  Atlantic,  till  they  came  to  what  they  took 
for  a  large  island.  The  natives  came  down  to  the 
beach,  wearing  crowns  of  brightly-colored  feathers,  but 
no  clothes,  and  their  copper  skins  were  painted  in 
many  hues.  They  had  white  bones  through  their  ears 
and  cheeks,  and  a  great  hole  in  the  under  lip,  in  which 
some  wore  a  stone  and  some  thrust  out  the  tongue. 
Their  eyelashes,  eyebrows,  and  beards  had  all  been 
pulled  out.  They  were  spoken  to  in  Negro  language 
and  Arabic,  but  of  course  answered  to  neither ;  though 
two,  who  were  afterward  caught  in  a  canoe,  did  better 


The   Way  into  the  Pacific.  65 

understand  the  language  of  beads  and  looking-glasses. 
For  these  they  gave  in  exchange  fruit,  maize,  and  the 
flour  of  the  root  of  the  mandioc  shrub,  which  we  still 
know  as  "  arrow-root." 

On  Easter  Sunday  a  large  body  of  the  Portuguese 
landed,  and  a  solemn  mass  was  celebrated,  the  natives 
hovering  about,  and  imitating  the  gestures  of  the 
Portuguese.  Cabral  set  up  a  large  stone  cross,  and 
took  possession  of  the  country  for  his  king,  naming 
it  Santa  Cruz.  He  left  behind  him  two  men.  It 
was  the  custom  of  the  discoverers  of  those  times  to 
take  from  the  prisons  men  under  sentence  of  death, 
and  leave  them  behind  among  the  natives,  to  take 
their  chance,  learn  the  language,  and  prepare  for  new- 
comers. 

The  ships  then  went  on  to  India,  and  on  their 
return  to  Portugal,  King  Manuel  sent  out  three  ships 
under  Amerigo  Vespucci.  These  fell  in  with  a  few 
more  savage  tribes,  who  killed  and  devoured  three  of 
the  sailors,  whom  they  had  made  prisoners ;  one  of 
them  actually  in  view  of  his  horrified  comrades  in  the 
boats,  before  whom  the  savages  held  up  pieces  of  his 
limbs.  Vespucci  sailed  along  a  great  length  of  coast, 
and  then,  as  it  was  late  in  the  year,  crossed  to  Africa. 

In   1503,  Amerigo,  still  intending  to  go  to  India, 

sailed  with  six   ships,  and  was  driven  upon   the  coast 

5 


66  Stories  of  American  History. 

which  he  had  already  visited.  Five  of  these  vessels 
were  lost,  and  Vespucci,  landing,  remained  five  months, 
made  friends  with  the  natives,  and  built  a  fort.  One  of 
the  five  vessels  lost  was  wrecked,  and  her  crew  were 
taken  off.  The  other  four  were  never  heard  from.  In 
the  fort  he  left  twenty-four  men  who  had  been  saved 
from  the  wreck.  As  before,  he  took  home  a  cargo  of 
gums  and  spices,  and  a  red  wood,  already  known  to 
the  Portuguese,  and  much  prized  by  them.  It  was 
called,  from  its  color,  brazil,  or  burning  wood,  and 
the  country  came  to  be  named  Brazil,  instead  of  the 
name,  given  at  first,  of  Santa  Cruz.  Many  adventur- 
ers went  out  thither  to  obtain  this  wood,  with  the  abun- 
dant gums  and  spices.  Monkeys  and  parrots  were  also 
among  the  imports  of  the  early  navigators  into  Europe. 
An  expedition  was  fitted  out  in  Spain  to  sail  for 
Brazil,  under  Amerigo  Vespucci,  but  it  never  set  forth. 
Vespucci  had  entered  the  service  of  the  King  of  Spain, 
however,  and  received  a  liberal  salary  as  principal 
pilot,  preparing  charts  and  sailing  directions.  He 
died  in  1512,  his  widow  was  pensioned,  and  his  son 
was  taken  into  royal  favor.  Shortly  after  his  last 
return  from  Brazil,  he  wrote  a  letter,  giving  an  account 
of  his  voyages.  This  letter  was  published,  not,  however, 
at  Vespucci's  instance,  and  the  publisher  suggested  the 
name  of  America  for  the  newly-discovered  continent. 


The   Way  into  the  Pacific.  67 

It  became  a  subject  of  dispute  between  Spain  and 
Portugal  to  whom  Brazil  belonged.  But,  as  the  coast 
of  Brazil  was  clearly  to  the  east  of  the  line  established 
by  the  Pope,  the  Portuguese  claimed  it ;  while  Spain 
construed  the  papal  decree  to  mean  that  all  lands 
discovered  by  sailing  west  belonged  to  her.  In  1511, 
Don  Juan  Diaz  de  Solis  sailed  from  Spain,  still  hunt- 
ing for  the  western  passage  to  India.  Sailing  along 
the  coast  of  the  continent  to  the  south,  he  came  to 
what  he  took  for  a  sea  of  fresh  water,  but  was  really 
the  mouth  of  a  great  river,  the  Rio  de  la  Plata.  Going 
ashore  with  a  small  party,  he  was  cut  off  by  the 
natives,  who  broke  forth  from  an  ambush,  shattered 
the  boat  with  their  clubs,  killed  every  man  who  had 
landed,  then  carried  their  bodies  to  a  place  within 
sight  of  the  ships,  cooked  and  devoured  them.  The 
terrified  explorers  returned  at  once  to  Spain. 

In  1519,  Fernando  de  Magelhaens  or  Magellan,  a 
Portuguese  mariner  in  the  service  of  Spain,  sailed  with 
five  Spanish  ships  from  Seville.  He  followed  the 
coast  of  South  America,  looking  still  for  the  western 
passage  to  India.  In  the  mouth  of  the  La  Plata, 
where  poor  Solis  had  fallen,  he  thought  he  had  found 
it,  but  discovering  his  mistake  he  proceeded  south. 
He  found  some  gigantic  people,  whom  he  called  Pata- 
gonians,  because  he  fancied  their  feet  were  patas  or 


68  Stories  of  American  History. 

pads,  like  those  of  lions  or  dogs.  He  passed  the 
straits,  which  still  bear  his  name,  between  the  land  of  the 
Patagonians  and  a  bare  volcanic  island,  which  he 
named  Tierra  del  Fuego,  or  land  of  fire.  The  difficult 
and  dangerous  passage  occupied  twenty  days,  and  he 
came  out  into  the  southern  part  of  the  ocean  which 
Balboa  had  seen  from  the  Isthmus  of  Darien.  He 
found  the  ocean  so  peaceful  that  he  named  it  the 
Pacific.  Sailing  onward,  he  did  what  Columbus  had 
aimed  at,  for  he  reached  the  most  eastward  of  the 
islands  of  Asia,  and  thus  nearly  came  round  from 
extreme  west  to  extreme  east.  He  did  not  live,  how- 
ever, to  tell  the  tale.  Touching  at  a  fruitful  group  of 
islands,  where  his  crew  were  refreshed,  but  which  he 
called  the  Ladrones,  from  the  thievish  character  of  the 
inhabitants,  he  next  proceeded  to  the  group  now  known 
as  the  Philippines.  Here,  in  resisting  an  attack  from  a 
large  body  of  the  natives,  Magellan  was  killed,  with 
several  of  his  officers.  But  the  survivors  continued 
the  voyage,  and  visited  the  Portuguese  settled  in  the 
East,  to  their  extreme  astonishment.  One  of  the  fleet 
of  five  vessels  with  which  Magellan  sailed  from  Spain 
reached  home  again  on  the  yth  of  September,  1522; 
having  made  the  first  voyage  round  the  globe  in  three 
years  and  twenty-eight  days. 


CHAP.   IX.—  THE   AZTEC   EMPIRE. 


/T\  HE  desire  of  finding  the  great  empire,  full  of 
J-  gold,  of  which  the  Indians  spoke,  still  drew  on 
adventurer  after  adventurer.  In  the  year  1518  Fer- 
nando Cortes,  a  Spanish  gentleman  of  Estremadura, 
obtained  from  the  Governor  of  Cuba  a  fleet  of  seven 
ships,  with  a  force  of  five  hundred  and  fifty  soldiers, 
twelve  or  fifteen  horses,  and  ten  brass  cannon,  where- 
with to  seek  this  wonderful  place.  It  was  quite  true 
that  there  was  such  an  empire.  Indeed,  there  were 
two  such  lands  of  gold  :  one  in  North  America,  called 
Anahuac  ;  the  other,  named  Peru,  in  the  mountains  of 
South  America.  The  inhabitants  of  Anahuac  were 
called  Aztecs.  They  were  not  like  the  wild  Indians 
on  the  coast,  but  dwelt  in  cities,  had  temples,  a  priest- 
hood, and  a  regular  form  of  government  with  an 
emperor  at  its  head.  They  had  good  roads  and 
regular  communication  between  city  and  city.  Though 


7<D  Stories  of  American  History. 

they  had  no  alphabet  they  recorded  their  history  in 
a  sort  of  hieroglyphic  work,  painted  in  brilliant  colors 
on  cloth,  or  on  prepared  skins,  or  on  paper  made  from 
the  aloe  plant.  They  had  also  pictures  in  feather- 
work,  with  which  their  palaces  were  hung.  Iron  was 
not  known  among  them,  and  their  tools  and  weapons 
were  of  copper,  tin,  and  sharpened  stones  ;  their  vessels 
either  of  clay,  earthenware,  or  of  gold  and  silver. 

They  had  many  gods ;  thirteen  principal  ones,  and 
more  than  two  hundred  of  lesser  rank,  with  a  numerous 
body  of  priests.  Their  temples  were  sometimes  like 
pyramids,  with  steps  on  the  outside,  and  broad  terraces 
at  different  stages ;  but,  instead  of  finishing  in  a  point, 
there  was  a  broad  flat  space  on  the  top,  where  stood 
two  towers  with  the  images  of  the  gods  in  them.  In 
front  of  each  was  an  altar,  and  the  stone  of  sacrifice, 
on  which,  unhappily,  the  victims  were  human  beings — 
generally  captives  taken  in  war.  They  were  laid  flat 
on  the  stone,  and  their  hearts  cut  out  and  cast  at 
the  feet  of  the  idol.  Little  children,  wreathed  with 
flowers,  were  carried  in  litters  to  the  temple  of  the 
god  of  rain,  and  there  sacrificed ;  and  the  corpses  were 
feasted  upon  in  banquets,  served  up  with  the  choicest 
cookery  and  splendid  ornaments.  It  is  reckoned  that 
not  less  than  twenty  thousand  human  beings  perished 
each  year  in  this  manner. 


The  Aztec  Empire. 


Yet  the  Aztecs  lived  in  considerable  civilization, 
and  understood  many  of  the  sciences,  in  their  own 
method,  especially  arithmetic  and  astronomy.  They 
farmed  every  inch  of 
land  in  their  moun- 
tainous country,  grow- 
ing Indian  corn,  bana- 
na, and  cocoa  (whence 
was  made  chocolate), 
and  the  great  aloe,  or 
maguey.  The  juice  of 
this  plant  was  ferment- 
ed into  a  liquor  called 
pulque.  The  fibers  of 
the  leaves  formed 
thread  and  cordage, 
the  thorns,  pins  and 
needles  ;  the  leaves 

made  thatch  when  whole,  and  could  be  pounded 
into  a  paste  whence  paper  could  be  made.  The 
garments  of  the  Aztecs  were  woven  of  the  thread  of 
the  aloe,  of  cotton,  and  of  hair ;  but  their  most 
beautiful  work  was  in  the  feather  hangings,  where 
the  lovely  tints  of  all  the  tropical  birds  were  used 
to  make  exquisite  pictures.  Their  houses  were  built 
round  large  courts,  in  which  beautiful  flowers  were 


Aztec  Warrior  and  Woman. 


72  Stories  of  American  History. 

grown.  Their  feasts,  served  in  gold  and  silver  dishes, 
were  as  regularly  conducted  and  as  ceremoniously 
as  any  in  Europe.  Mexico  itself,  the  capital,  was 
one  of  the  most  beautiful  cities  that  ever  existed. 
It  stood  on  islands  in  a  great  salt  lake,  shut  in  with 
a  great  circle  of  mountains.  Three  broad  causeways 
led  to  it;  and  the  streets  were  some  of  them  of  water, 
some  of  land,  some  of  them  with  footways  bordering 
canals.  Lovely  gardens,  trees,  and  flowers  adorned 
it ;  the  numerous  temples  and  the  splendid  palace  and 
garden  of  the  Emperor  crowned  it. 

In  spite  of  their  horrible  religion,  the  Aztecs  were 
a  well-ordered  nation,  and  loved  poetry  and  art,  and 
all  that  is  graceful  and  beautiful.  They  had  happy 
and  peaceful  homes,  and  just  laws  ;  indeed,  it  is  thought 
that  two  nations,  one  savage  and  the  other  gentle,  had 
become  blended  into  one  ;  and  that  the  custom  of 
offering  fruits  and  flowers  remained  from  a  better  form 
of  worship,  which  had  been  overcome  by  the  frightful 
custom  of  human  sacrifices. 

The  Aztecs  had  quantities  of  writings  in  their  own 
picture  fashion.  Though  most  of  these  were  de- 
stroyed, a  history  was  copied  from  such  as  were  spared. 
The  process  was  to  write  the  meaning  of  the  symbols 
in  the  Mexican  language  with  the  letters  of  the 
alphabet.  This  copy  was  then  translated  into  Spanish. 


The  Aztec  Empire.  73 

From  these  records  it  is  known  that  they  had  a  long 
line  of  kings,  some  of  whom  had  been  very  wise  and 
just,  as  well  as  brave  and  magnificent.  They  were 
religious  men,  too,  who  thought  much,  as  even  the 
Greek  philosophers  did,  of  the  hope  that  good  and 
virtuous  men  may  be  blessed  after  their  life  here 
is  over. 

Anahuac,  at  the  arrival  of  Cortes,  was  divided  into 
three  kingdoms  —  Tezcuco,  Tlascala,  and  Mexico. 
Tezcuco  had  the  best  and  noblest  kings,  and  had 
been  the  most  powerful  kingdom.  The  Tezcucan 
kings  dwelt  on  the  east  shore  of  the  great  lake,  oppo- 
site to  the  city  of  Mexico,  and  had  had  about  three 
centuries  of  war  and  rivalry  with  the  Mexicans,  till, 
just  before  the  Spaniards  found  their  way  to  America, 
the  last  of  the  great  and  good  Tezcucan  kings,  Neza- 
hualpilli,  was  overcome  by  fraud  and  force  by  his 
neighbor  Montezuma,  King  of  Mexico,  and  lost  great 
part  of  his  dominions.  When  the  Tezcucan  pined 
away  and  died,  Montezuma  took  to  himself  the  title  of 
king  over  other  kings,  which  the  Spaniards  translated 
"  Emperor."  It  was  he  who  was  reigning  in  Anahuac, 
and  at  war  with  the  Tlascalans,  when  Cortes  set  forth 
to  find  the  great  golden  empire. 


CHAP.   X.— THE   CONQUEST   OF   MEXICO. 

1521. 

/\ORTES  was  preceded  by  two  adventurers  in 
^^  Mexican  discovery,  Fernandes  de  Cordova  and 
Juan  de  Grijalva.  Each  prepared  the  way  for  the 
next ;  and  it  was  their  reports  of  the  wealth  in 
gold  which  caused  the  more  powerful  expedition  of 
Cortes  to  be  fitted  out.  Grijalva  coasted  from  Yucatan 
as  far  north  as  Panuco,  in  the  department  now  called 
Vera  Cruz.  The  first  place  at  which  Cortes  landed 
was  at  the  mouth  of  the  river  Grijalva,  as  it  is 
sometimes  called,  in  honor  of  that  discoverer.  It  is 
now  marked  on  the  charts  as  the  Rio  de  Tabasco, 
from  the  name  of  the  district  which  it  traverses.  As 
the  natives  had  shown  a  fierce  disposition  to  repel 
their  previous  Spanish  visitors,  they  came  down  in 
strong  force  to  oppose  Cortes.  When  the  Spaniards 
fired  their  guns,  the  Indians  threw  dust  in  the  air, 
that  the  Spaniards  might  not  see  the  damage  they 


The  Conquest  of  Mexico.  75 

were  doing.  But  victory  was  sure  to  be  where  there 
were  horses  and  fire-arms.  The  Tabascans  submitted, 
and  brought  Cortes  twenty  girls,  as  slaves,  to  crush 
their  maize,  and  make  bread  of  the  flour.  One  of 
these  girls  was  an  Aztec  chiefs  daughter.  She  was 
christened  Marina,  and  became  a  most  useful  and 
faithful  interpreter  to  Cortes.  Sailing  farther  along 
the  coast,  they  landed  at  San  Juan  de  Ulua,  an  island 
which  commands  the  harbor  of  Vera  Cruz,  and  which 
had  been  visited  and  named  by  Grijalva.  Here,  for 
the  first  time,  they  heard  of  Montezuma  as  a  great 
emperor,  far  inland.  He  had  sent  messengers  to  ask 
what  these  strangers  were  doing  on  his  coast.  Cortes 
answered  that  they  had  been  sent  by  their  king  to 
treat  with  Montezuma,  and  meant  to  see  him.  This, 
the  messengers  said,  was  impossible.  But  when  Cortes 
insisted,  they  said  they  would  send  to  their  prince  for 
an  answer,  and  began  drawing  pictures  of  the  Spaniards 
to  send  him.  Whereupon  Cortes  had  all  his  troops 
drawn  out,  caused  his  horsemen  to  make  a  grand 
charge  upon  the  sands,  and  the  cannon  to  be  fired ; 
so  that  indeed  they  had  some  strange  pictures  to  send. 
He  also  bade  them  tell  Montezuma  that  he  and  his 
companions  had  a  complaint  of  the  heart  which  could 
only  be  cured  by  gold.  Montezuma  refused  to  see 
this  stranger,  but  sent  him  presents  that  did  but  whet 


76 


Stories  of  American  History. 


the  appetite  of  all  those  who  had  that  dangerous  com- 
plaint of  the  heart,  namely,  a  sum  of  gold  and  many 
other  precious  things. 

Cortes  was  absolutely  resolved  to  make  his  way  to 


Spaniards  destroying  an  Aztec  Idol, 

see  the  Emperor ;  and  that  no  one  might  be  able  to 
turn  back,  he  ordered  his  ships  to  be  burned.     He  had 


The  Conquest  of  Mexico.  77 

founded  a  city,  which  he  called  Vera  Cruz,  where  he 
left  all  that  he  did  not  want  on  his  march  under 
the  charge  of  the  weaker  men.  It  was  much  in  the 
favor  of  Cortes  that  the  countries  round  the  coast 
were  held  in  subjection  by  the  Mexicans,  and  hated 
them ;  so  even  though  they  had  begun  by  fighting 
against  Cortes,  they  were  willing  to  join  with  him 
against  Montezuma  as  soon  as  they  had  felt  his 
strength.  The  first  thing  Cortes  always  did  was  to 
stop  the  horrible  human  sacrifices,  clear  the  temples 
of  blood,  set  up  a  cross,  and  charge  the  priests  to 
guard  it,  and  then  to  make  the  people  vassals  to  King 
Charles  of  Spain. 

Tlascala  was  a  great  republic,  tributary  to  Monte- 
zuma. It  had  a  large  and  beautiful  capital,  with  a 
wall  nine  feet  high  and  twenty  broad,  measuring  six 
miles  in  length.  The  people  became  the  allies  of 
Cortes,  and  some  thousands  of  them  came  on  with 
him  on  the  march  to  Mexico.  There  was  much 
fighting  on  the  way,  but  Cortes  held  on  until  he  had 
reached  the  great  causeway,  and  from  the  heights 
looked  down  into  the  great  valley  of  Mexico.  The 
sight  of  the  wonderful  city,  full  of  gardens  rising  up 
from  the  lakes,  was  so  marvelously  and  surpassingly 
beautiful  that  the  soldiers  stood  still,  and  asked  one 
another  if  they  were  awake,  the  scene  was  so  like  a 


Stories  of  American  History. 


dream,  or  like  the  enchanted  castles  and  gardens  they 
had  read  of  in  romances. 

Montezuma  had  found  it  vain  to  try  to  stop 
these  strangers,  so  he  had  promised  to  receive  their 
leader.  Cortes,  with  all  the  splendor  he  could 


The  Meeting  of  Cortes  and  Montezuma. 

muster,  rode  to  meet  him  at  the  gate,  between  rows 
of  Mexican  lords,  who  saluted  the  new-comer  by 
laying  their  hands  in  the  dust  and  then  kissing  them. 


The  Conquest  of  Mexico.  79 

Montezuma  stood  leaning  on  the  arms  of  his  brother 
and  nephew,  wearing  on  his  head  plumes  of  the  royal 
green  which  floated  down  his  back.  He  had  on  gilded 
sandals,  and  a  mantle  rich  with  gold  and  precious 
stones,  while  over  his  head  four  nobles  held  a  canopy, 
the  ground-work  of  which  was  of  green  feathers,  with 
the  richest  embroidery  of  gold,  pearls,  and  precious 
stones  in  fringes  and  drops.  Cortes,  dismounting, 
advanced,  and  was  received  with  princely  courtesy. 
There  was  an  exchange  of  presents,  a  feast,  and  a 
conference,  with  the  Indian  girl  Marina  for  an  inter- 
preter. Cortes  explained  the  Christian  Faith  and  the 
Divine  Law,  and  tried  to  make  Montezuma  accept 
them.  The  Emperor  was  so  grandly  polite  and  courte- 
ous, and  unwilling  to  contradict  a  guest,  that  the 
Spaniards  hoped  he  was  succeeding.  But  when  the 
Emperor  took  Cortes  to  see  his  great  temple,  on  the 
platform  at  the  top  of  many  stairs,  the  Spaniards  were 
sickened  and  shocked.  The  place  looked  and  smelt 
like  a  slaughter-house ;  and  before  one  idol  lay  five, 
before  another  three,  human  hearts,  torn  out  that  morn- 
ing. Cortes  showed  his  horror,  and  tried  to  speak  of 
better  things  ;  but  Montezuma  was  grieved  at  the  dis- 
honor done  to  his  gods,  who,  he  said,  gave  him  victory, 
wealth,  good  harvests,  and  all  he  needed,  and  deserved 
to  have  offerings  made  to  them.  To  Cortes  it  seemed 


8o  Stories  of  American  History. 

a  clear  duty  to  win  the  country  for  Christ  and  for 
Spain.  He  did  not  trust  the  Aztecs,  and  he  resolved 
to  get  their  emperor  into  his  own  hands.  There  had 
been  a  little  fight  between  the  people  he  had  left  at 
Vera  Cruz  and  their  neighbors,  and  this  he  made  an 
excuse  for  surprising  Montezuma,  and  keeping  him  in 
the  Spanish  quarters  as  a  hostage  for  his  people.  It 
was  one  of  the  most  amazing  acts  of  boldness  ever 
done,  but  it  succeeded. 

Montezuma  was  cowed,  and  finding  his  only  chance 
of  safety  was  to  give  his  allegiance  to  Spain,  he  sent 
for  his  nobles,  and  called  on  them  to  consent.  They 
wept  bitterly,  but  gave  way,  and  for  some  months 
Montezuma  continued  to  be  still  their  emperor,  though 
closely  watched  by  the  Spaniards.  New  difficulties 
and  dangers  arose  for  Cortes.  Velasquez,  Governor 
of  Cuba,  had  become  his  enemy,  and  sent  out  an  expe- 
dition, under  Pamfilo  de  Narvaez,  to  depose  and  arrest 
him.  By  fighting  and  defeating  the  army  of  Narvaez, 
and  winning  the  soldiers  to  his  cause,  Cortes  kept  his 
command.  Returning  to  Mexico,  he  found  the  Aztecs 
up  in  arms  against  the  Spanish  garrison.  A  massacre 
of  the  inhabitants  while  celebrating  a  feast  had  mad- 
dened them.  The  Spaniards  were  besieged  in  their 
quarters,  and  fearful  encounters  took  place  whenever 
they  ventured  forth.  The  destruction  of  a  temple 


The  Conquest  of  Mexico. 


81 


which  overlooked  the  Spanish  quarters  added  to  the 
fury  of  the  Aztecs  ;  but  from  its  upper  stage  the  Mexi- 
cans had  thrown  arrows  upon  the  Spaniards,  and  when 
a  Spaniard  was  made  prisoner,  his  countrymen  had 
seen  him  dragged  up  the  side  of  one  of  these  temples 
to  die  a  horrid  death  before  the  idols.  As  Montezuma 


Cortes  destroying  the  Idols  at  Zempoalla. 

had  professed  allegiance  to  Spain,  and  was  still  in  the 
hands  of  Cortes,  he  could  call  the  rising  of  the  Mexi- 


82  Stories  of  American  History. 


cans  a  rebellion.  He  brought  out  the  unfortunate 
prince  to  address  the  people.  They  listened  for  a  little 
while,  but  then  flung  stones  and  shot  arrows.  Three 
struck  Montezuma,  and  in  a  few  days  he  died  of  grief, 
or  of  his  wounds,  the  Spaniards  having  tried  in  vain  to 
make  him  confess  himself  a  Christian. 

The  Spaniards  were  compelled  to  leave  the  city  of 
Mexico,  but  made  their  retreat  under  great  difficulty. 
A  new  king,  by  name  Guatemozin,  was  set  up,  and 
Cortes  had  to  besiege  Mexico,  and  carry  on  a  dreadful 
war,  before,  on  the  I3th  of  August,  1521,  he  finally  took 
the  great  lake  city,  and  the  Aztec  Empire,  with  all  its 
spoils  of  gold,  silver,  and  pearls,  was  added  to  the  realms 
of  Spain.  The  city  of  Mexico  withstood  a  siege  of 
three  months,  in  which  uncounted  thousands  died  by 
war  and  famine.  Its  conquest  was  effected  by  the  aid 
of  native  allies  of  Spain,  enemies  of  Mexico.  The  cap- 
ture of  Guatemozin  ended  the  resistance  of  his  subjects. 
Three  years  later  he  was  hanged  by  Cortes  on  a  charge 
of  conspiracy.  So  perished  the  last  of  the  Aztec 
kings.  The  country  thus  conquered  was  named  New 
Spain. 


CHAP.   XI.— THE   CONVERSION    OF 
MEXICO. 

1529. 

lON  FERNANDO  CORTES,  the  man  who  had 
conquered  Mexico,  was  great,  both  in  patience 
and  ability.  However  much  he  might  be  provoked, 
he  never  said  a  hasty  word,  though  one  vein  in  his 
forehead  and  another  in  his  throat  used  to  swell  with 
wrath.  He  was  a  devout  man  after  his  fashion,  reli- 
gious and  loyal,  who  meant  to  work  for  the  honor  of 
God  and  the  king ;  and  he  sent  at  once  for  a  bishop 
and  clergy  to  convert  the  Aztecs,  and  hold  service  in 
the  churches.  And  though  he  did  hard  and  cruel  things 
at  times,  it  was  always  in  the  way  of  what  he  thought 
his  duty.  But  there  were  ten  plagues  in  New  Spain 
which  made  terrible  havoc  of  the  Aztecs,  and  were  thus 
counted  up  by  a  monk,  who  was  a  friend  of  Cortes  : 
(i)  small-pox  ;  (2)  the  slaughter  in  the  war;  (3)  famine 
after  the  war;  (4)  Indian  and  Negro  overseers;  (5) 


84  Stories  of  American  History. 

the  heavy  tribute  demanded  from  the  Indians ;  (6)  the 
gold  mines;  (7)  the  rebuilding  of  Mexico;  (8)  the 
making  of  slaves  to  work  in  the  mines  ;  (9)  the  car- 
riage of  metals  from  the  mines;  (10)  the  quarrels  of 
the  Spaniards. 

The  false  accusers  had  gone  home  to  Spain,  and 
there  was  terrible  jealousy  of  Cortes.  A  judge  was 
sent  out  to  hold  a  court  and  try  him  ;  but  after  waiting 
seventeen  days  not  a  single  charge  of  any  act  of  dis- 
honesty, selfishness,  or  disloyalty  was  brought  How- 
ever, he  went  over  to  see  the  King  of  Spain,  who  had 
by  this  time  been  elected  as  the  Emperor  Charles  V. 
All  falsehoods  about  him  were  confuted  as  soon  as  the 
Emperor  actually  saw  and  heard  him  ;  and  he  went 
back  to  Mexico  as  Captain-General  of  the  army,  though 
not  as  Governor.  He  took  a  wife  back  with  him,  and 
obtained  large  estates  in  Mexico.  The  great  Mexican 
and  Tlascalan  chiefs  and  land-owners,  who  chose  to 
make  friends  with  the  Spaniards  and  become  Christians, 
were  not  deprived  of  their  property ;  and  the  Aztec 
race  did  not  melt  away,  as  the  Indians  of  the  isles  had 
done,  but  a  mixed  population  grew  up — Spanish,  In- 
dian, and  Negro,  mingled  together  in  strange  ways. 

All  this  time  the  great  desire  of  Cortes  was  to  find 
the  way  over  the  mountains  to  the  southern  sea  that 
Vasco  Nunez  de  Balboa  had  seen.  The  tribes  in  the 


The  Conversion  of  Mexico.  85 

mountains,  who  had  been  in  the  fear  of  the  great 
Emperors  of  Mexico,  offered  submission  ;  and  through 
their  states  the  Pacific  Ocean  was  reached  in  1522, 
about  one  thousand  miles  above  the  spot  where  Balboa 
had  first  beheld  it.  Guatemala,  which  means  in  Aztec, 
"  the  place  of  decayed  wood,"  a  country  as  civilized  as 
Mexico,  situate  on  the  western  coast,  received  and 
submitted  to  Pedro  de  Alvarado,  an  officer  of  Cortes. 
Twelve  Dominican  and  twelve  Franciscan  friars  were 
sent  out  from  Spain  to  attend  to  the  conversion  of  the 
Aztecs.  They  were  received  with  great  respect  by 
Cortes,  who  bent  his  knee  and  kissed  their  hands, 
while  the  Indians,  amazed  at  his  condescension  to 
barefooted  men,  in  rough  serge,  with  ropes  around 
their  waists,  cried  out,  "  Motolinia,"  which  means 
"  poor."  As  poverty  is  said  to  have  been  the  bride  of 
St.  Francis,  one  of  these  brethren  was  so  delighted 
with  the  name  that  he  took  it  for  his  own,  and  was 
ever  after  called  Father  Toribio  Motolinia.  He  spent 
his  life  in  teaching,  catechising,  and  converting  the 
Aztecs,  and  is  said  to  have  baptized  four  hundred 
thousand  of  them.  Another  was  a  Fleming,  Peter  of 
Ghent,  who  thought  himself  unworthy  to  be  anything 
but  a  lay  brother,  but  who  spent  fifty  years  in  kind  and 
gentle  training  of  the  Mexicans.  He  built  with  their 
help  a  large  school,  where  he  was  the  first  to  teach 


86  Stories  of  American  History. 

them  to  read,  write,  play  on  musical  instruments,  paint 
and  carve  like  the  Flemings  at  home.  He  could 
preach  if  no  priest  was  at  hand,  and  he  persuaded  many 
an  Aztec  to  destroy  his  idols.  He  was  altogether  a 
man  of  such  influence  that  the  archbishop  once  said, 
"  I  am  not  Archbishop  of  Mexico,  but  Brother  Peter 
of  Ghent  is."  In  his  old  age  he  thought  it  a  tempta- 
tion of  the  evil  one  that  he  felt  the  yearnings  of  home- 
sickness, and  longed  above  all  to  hear  his  native  Flem- 
ish :  but  he  staid  at  his  post  in  Mexico  all  his  life, 
and  died  there. 

Grievous  deeds  were  done  by  the  greedy  Spaniards, 
and  suffered  by  the  natives,  as  the  conquest  of  Mexico 
was  followed  by  that  of  Central  America.  But,  on  the 
whole,  things  were  not  so  shocking  as  in  Hispaniola 
and  Cuba.  Las  Casas  had  come  to  the  mainland,  and 
so  testified  against  the  violence  of  the  Spaniards,  that 
for  some  years  he  was  forbidden  to  preach.  He  also 
published  a  treatise,  in  which  he  declared,  first,  that 
the  Indians  ought  to  be  made  Christians  by  love  and 
good  teaching,  not  by  slavery  and  violence ;  and,  next, 
that  even  if  they  refused,  that  did  not  make  it  right  to 
make  war  on  them  and  enslave  them.  He  was  laughed 
at  by  the  Spaniards,  and  told  that  his  plans  of  persua- 
sion were  mere  folly.  The  Spaniards  derisively  chal- 
lenged him  to  try. 


The  Conversion  of  Mexico.  87 

Now  there  was,  near  Guatemala,  a  district  where  the 
people  were  so  fierce  that  the  Spaniards  had  named  it 
the  Land  of  War,  for  they  had  three  times  been  driven 
back  from  it.  Las  Casas  actually  signed  and  sealed  an 
agreement  with  the  Emperor  Charles  V,  that  he  would 
bring  this  place  to  be  Christian  and  to  submit  to  him, 
if  no  soldiers,  or  colonists,  or  any  other  Spaniards, 
except  those  connected  with  the  Government,  were 
allowed  to  enter  the  country  for  five  years. 

The  first  thing  Las  Casas  did  was  to  choose  some 
good  Dominicans.  With  fasts  and  prayers  they  pre- 
pared themselves.  Then  they  drew  up,  in  verse,  in 
the  language  of  the  country,  an  account  of  the  Crea- 
tion, the  Fall,  the  Redemption,  the  work  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  and  the  Last  Judgment.  They  taught  these 
poems  to  some  Christian  Indian  peddlers,  who  used  to 
carry  wares  into  the  land  of  war  every  year,  and  who 
sang  them  with  all  their  hearts.  The  people  listened, 
and  the  peddlers  then  told  of  the  holy  lives  of  the  good 
Fathers  who  had  taught  them,  and  could  explain  more. 
So  well  did  these  native  missionaries  do  their  work, 
that  a  young  chief  actually  besought  that  the  Fathers 
would  come  to  him.  Father  Luis  Canea,  who  knew 
the  language  best,  was  sent,  and  was  welcomed  with 
arches  of  triumph,  flowers  strewn,  and  every  honor. 
A  church  was  built  for  his  ministrations,  and  chiefs 


88 


Stories  of  American  History. 


and  people  came  in.  With  great  difficulty  the  pious 
Fathers  did  contrive  to  keep  out  the  worst  violence  of 
the  Spaniards,  and  the  country  which  had  once  been 
the  land  of  war,  was  named  Vera  Paz,  or  True  Peace, 
and  the  Indians  there  have  ever  since  been  a  Christian, 
peaceful,  flourishing  race. 


CHAP.   XII.— THE   INCAS   OF    PERU. 

1524. 

^/V/NOTHER  Spanish  soldier,  unfortunately  of  very 
-*••*•  different  mold  from  Cortes,  set  forth  on  another 
quest  for  the  land  of  gold,  following  in  the  track  of 
Vasco  Nunez  de  Balboa.  This  man  was  Francisco 
Pizarro,  who  had  already  made  one  of  numerous  ad- 
venturous parties  in  journeys  of  discovery  ;  and  was 
fully  imbued  with  that  horrid  Spanish  notion,  which 
the  priests  and  monks  were  always  resisting,  that 
heathen  Indians  deserved  no  better  treatment  than 
brute  beasts. 

The  country  to  which  he  was  bent  on  making  his 
way  was  Peru,  which  lies  on  the  western  side  of  South 
America,  sloping  upward  from  the  Pacific  Ocean,  to 
where  the  Andes,  the  "  Giants  of  the  Western  Star," 
rise  up  into  thin  air  and  cold,  beyond  where  man,  beast, 
or  plant  can  live.  The  people  there  thought  them- 
selves the  Children  of  the  Sun,  whom  they  worshiped 


Stories  of  American  History. 


above  all  ;  but  not  with  human  sacrifices,  like  the 
Aztecs.  They  were  a  much  more  gentle  people,  and 
their  principal  sacrifice  on  the  chief  feast-day  was  only 
a  black  lamb.  They  thought  the  moon  was  the  sun's 
wife,  the  planet  Venus  his  page  ;  and  they  had  hosts 
of  other  deities,  whose  golden  images  filled  their  great 
temples.  There  were  great  colleges  of  priests,  and 
of  virgins  dedicated  to  the  sun.  The  first  studied 
astronomy,  and  offered  the  sacrifices  and  led  the 
worship  ;  the  maidens  prepared  the  sacred  bread  that 
was  given  out  to  the  people  at  the  feasts,  sang  songs, 
and  led  dances  in  honor  of  the  sun.  The  prince  of 
the  country  was  styled  the  Inca,  and  was  supposed  to 
be  the  living  representative  of  the  sun,  his  forefather. 
He  could  only  marry  in  his  own  family.  The  Inca 
was  a  sacred  person,  ruling  with  such  wise,  fatherly 
care,  that  as  we  read  of  old  Peru,  in  the  Commentaries 
of  Garcilasso  de  la  Vega,  we  can  not  help  thinking 
that  he  could  only  have  heard  the  best  side  of  the 
story.  De  la  Vega  was  born  in  Peru,  and  his  mother 
belonged  to  the  Inca  family. 

There  was  no  money  in  Peru,  no  private  estates. 
Everything  belonged  to  the  Inca,  as  Child  of  the  Sun  ; 
all  the  land,  the  metals,  and  the  flocks  of  llamas, 
guanacos,  and  alpacas,  which  served  as  horses,  cattle, 
and  sheep.  Every  year  the  land  was  freshly  portioned 


The  Incas  of  Perit. 


out,  according  to  the  number  of  each  family,  with  a 
reserve  for  the  sun  and  the  Inca.  The  rent  was  to  be 
personal  service  paid  to  the  Inca,  in  tilling  his  lands 
and  those  of  the  sun.  Their  produce  maintained  the 
priests,  and  supplied  the  sick  and  helpless,  and,  if 
there  were  any  remainder,  it  was  stored  up  against 
case  of  scarcity.  The  animals  were  distributed  in 
like  manner,  and  their  wool  was  given  out  by  the 
Inca  every  two  years,  to  supply  the  nation  with 
clothing.  Some  of  the  tribute  of  labor  was  em- 
ployed in  building  the  temples  and  palaces  of  the 
great  city  of  Cuzco  ;  and  some  in  making  and  keep- 
ing up  wonderful  roads  all  over  the  country,  in  the 
heights  of  the  Andes,  which  were  crossed  by  strings 
of  llamas,  bearing  gold  and  silver  in  baskets  on  their 
backs. 

The  country  was  like  one  large  family,  and,  as  there 
was  no  private  property,  stealing  was  unknown.  Each 
household  helped  its  neighbors  to  cultivate  the  ground, 
and  public  feasts  were  held  every  two  or  three 
months,  to  which  every  one  was  invited,  and  where 
there  were  songs  and  dances.  Officers  were  sent  forth 
by  the  Inca  to  watch  that  no  one  was  idle,  down  to  the 
child  of  five  years  old;  and  each  householder  was 
commanded  to  keep  his  doors  open  when  he  was  at 
dinner,  that  the  royal  inspectors  might  look  in  and  see 


92  Stories  of  American  History. 

whether  the  family  were  behaving  properly,  and  living 
according  to  their  rank. 

The  Peruvians  kept  their  records  by  a  number  of 
cords,  which  they  called  quipus.  The  color  of  threads 
in  a  quipu,  and  the  patterns  in  which  they  were  knotted 
together,  had  meanings  given  them,  which  made  them 
answer  the  purpose  of  writing.  In  them  the  laws  and 
history  of  the  kingdom  were  preserved,  and  also  some 
poetry.  The  Peruvians  seem  to  have  acted  plays  at 
their  great  festivals ;  but  they  had  not,  on  the  whole, 
made  so  much  progress  in  science  and  literature  as  the 
Aztecs. 

The  last  Inca  who  had  reigned  before  the  Spaniards 
found  Peru  had  conquered  the  province  of  Quito,  and 
had  made  a  most  wonderful  road  along  the  mountains 
from  thence  to  Cuzco.  He  had  married  a  daughter  of 
the  lord  of  Quito,  and  had  a  son,  whom  he  named 
Atahualpa,  or  Sweet  Valor.  But  this  youth  had  not 
equal  rights  with  the  elder  son,  Huascar,  or  the  Golden 
Chain,  whose  mother  was  one  of  the  Daughters  of  the 
Sun,  the  only  right  wives  for  the  Inca. 

Atahualpa  was,  however,  a  favorite  with  the  people, 
and  obtained  his  grandfather's  country  of  Quito  on  his 
father's  death.  Huascar  took  up  arms  against  him,  but 
was  defeated  by  the  chief  general  of  Quito,  Quizquiz, 
who  made  him  prisoner,  and  put  to  death  a  great 


The  Incas  of  Peru. 


93 


number  of  the  royal  race  of  Cuzco,  with  a  barbarity 
which  does  not  look  as  if  the  Peruvians  were  quite  as 
gentle  as  they  have  been  represented. 

It  was  at  this  time,  when  Peru  was  thus  disturbed 
by  the  quarrel  between  the  brothers,  that  Francisco 
Pizarro,  a  brave,  rough  man,  unable  even  to  write  his 
name,  agreed  with  his  friend,  Diego  de  Almagro,  to 
seek  for  the  riches  of  the  south  ;  and,  with  a  school- 
master named  Fernando  de  Luque,  they  induced  the 
Governor  of  Panama,  Pedrarias,  to  let  them  buy  a  ship, 
and  enlist  men  for  the  expedition.  In  1524,  Pizarro, 
with  eighty  men  and  some  horses,  set  forth  in  one  ship 
and  two  canoes,  coasting  along  southward,  and  suffer- 
ing terribly  for  want  of  food  ;  so  that  they  named  one 
spot  where  they  landed  the  Port  of  Hunger.  Almagro 
followed  with  another  ship,  and  found  them  in  a 
wretched  state.  But  they  were  wonderfully  patient 
and  resolute,  and  would  not  give  up  their  attempt — 
especially  as  some  prisoners  they  had  made  told  them 
of  the  land  of  gold  in  the  mountains.  At  last,  after 
untold  sufferings  and  labors,  they  became  quite  sure  of 
the  existence  of  the  great  empire,  and  that  all  that  was 
wanting  was  the  means  of  winning  it.  A  second  ex- 
pedition confirmed  these  impressions,  and  also  con- 
vinced Pizarro  that  the  needed  means  and  authority 
must  be  sought  in  Spain, 


CHAP.   XIII.—  THE    CONQUEST   OF    PERU. 


T7RANCISCO  PIZARRO  went  home  to  Spain, 
•*-  made  his  way  to  court,  and  told  his  story  of  the 
golden  kingdom  in  the  mountains.  Nothing  in  those 
days  seemed  to  be  too  wonderful  to  be  true.  The  old 
device  of  Spain  had  been  two  pillars,  representing  the 
pillars  of  Hercules  —  namely,  the  rocks  on  either  side 
of  the  Straits  of  Gibraltar  —  with  the  motto,  Ne  Plus 
Ultra,  "  no  more  beyond."  Charles  V  left  out  the  ne, 
so  that  his  badge  was  Plus  Ultra,  or,  "  more  beyond  "  ; 
and  the  ensign  of  Hispaniola  was  a  horse  leaping  off  a 
rock  into  infinite  space. 

No  doubt  crossed  any  one's  mind  as  to  the  right  of 
attacking  these  distant  kings  ;  or  rather,  the  text  giving 
the  Messiah  the  heathen  for  His  inheritance  was  mis- 
interpreted to  mean  that  His  supposed  representative, 
the  Pope,  could  give  away  heathen  empires  to  Christian 
kings  ;  nor  was  there  a  thought  of  the  cruelty  of  send- 


The  Conquest  of  Peru.  95 

ing  a  fierce,  hard,  ignorant  man  to  be  a  conqueror  and 
ruler.  So  Pizarro  had  the  government  of  Peru  granted 
to  him.  The  schoolmaster,  Fernando  de  Luque,  was 
to  be  Bishop,  and  Almagro,  Judge,  or  Adelantado. 
Pizarro's  four  brothers  sold  their  Spanish  lands  and 
sailed  out  to  share  with  him  ;  but  altogether,  when  he 
had  come  out  from  Spain  and  collected  his  whole  forces 
at  Panama,  he  had  only  three  ships,  thirty-seven  horses, 
and  one  hundred  and  eighty-three  men.  The  use  of 
the  horses  was  much  more  to  amaze  and  terrify  the 
natives  than  for  actual  fighting.  With  this  small  party 
he  set  forth  to  win  an  empire  on  Innocents'  Day,  the 
28th  of  December,  1530. 

The  point  for  which  Pizarro  aimed  on  his  third 
voyage  was  Tumbez,  near  the  entrance  of  the  Bay  of 
Guayaquil,  which  he  had  visited  before,  and  where  he 
had  made  acquaintance  with  the  Indians,  showing  them 
his  power  and  receiving  supplies  from  Panama.  He 
was  obliged  to  land  some  sixty  miles  to  the  north  by 
head  winds,  and  disembarking  his  troops  marched  along 
the  shore,  suffering  great  hardships.  Reaching  the 
Bay  of  Guayaquil,  he  occupied  the  isle  of  Nuna,  where 
his  ships  rejoined  him.  On  the  isle  of  Nuna  and  on 
the  coast  of  Tumbez  he  remained  over  a  year,  and  was 
joined  by  Fernando  de  Soto  with  re-enforcements. 
From  the  Indians  of  Tumbez  he  now  heard  of  the  war 


96 


Stories  of  American  History. 


between  the  two  Incas.     He  sent  a  deputation  to  Ata- 
hualpa,  who  was  encamped  near  the  city  of  Caxamarca. 


Pizarro  and  his  Men. 

The  deputation  returned  with  an  envoy,  bringing 
presents  from  the  Inca,  who  seems  to  have  wished  to 
secure  the  assistance  of  the  new-comers  against  his 
brother  Huascar.  Without  any  opposition,  Pizarro 
marched  on  to  the  city  of  Caxamarca,  which  he  found 
deserted.  He  took  possession  of  the  great  square, 


The  Conquest  of  Peru.  97 

and  thence  sent  Fernando  de  Soto  and  his  own  brother 
Hernando,  with  about  thirty  horsemen,  to  Atahualpa's 
camp. 

They  found  the  Inca  in  his  quarters,  the  only  person 
seated,  and  wearing  on  his  head  what  served  for  a 
crown,  namely,  a  cap  with  an  enormous  tassel  of  fine 
crimson  wool,  like  silk,  which  hung  down  over  his  eyes, 
so  that  he  had  to  lift  it  up  when  he  wished  to  see.  He 
behaved  with  much  pride  and  stateliness,  and  said  he 
understood  the  Spaniards  were  no  great  warriors,  but 
that  they  might  go  and  help  his  men  to  subdue  a 
stubborn  race  of  Indians  four  miles  off.  He  promised 
to  come  and  see  Pizarro  in  his  camp  in  the  square  of 
the  city  of  Caxamarca.  On  the  i6th  of  November, 
1532,  the  Inca  came.  Most  likely  he  meant  to  sur- 
round and  capture  the  strangers,  and  secure  their  arms 
and  horses,  for  he  brought  with  him  five  or  six  thousand 
men,  apparently  unarmed,  but  with  clubs,  slings,  and 
bags  of  stone  under  their  cotton  dresses.  However, 
he  himself  came  peacefully,  in  a  litter  of  plated  silver 
and  gold,  adorned  with  paroquets'  feathers.  Pizarro 
had  placed  all  his  men,  except  about  twenty  whom  he 
reserved  as  his  suite  or  staff,  under  cover  in  the  de- 
serted buildings,  apparently  barracks,  which  opened 
upon  the  square.  When  the  Inca  halted,  Pizarro  sent 
a  priest  to  him  to  expound,  briefly,  the  whole  Christian 
7 


98  Stories  of  American  History. 

doctrine ;  from  which  the  priest  deduced  the  fact  that 
it  was  the  duty  of  the  Inca  at  once  to  submit  himself 
to  the  Pope  and  the  King  of  Spain.  An  Indian  inter- 
preter made  such  a  rendering  of  the  discourse  as  he 
could,  and  some  talk  followed,  in  the  course  of  which 
the  Inca  asked  for  the  breviary  which  the  priest  held 
in  his  hand.  After  glancing  at  it  he  threw  it  down, 
and  sharply  complained  of  the  mischief  the  Spaniards 
had  done  in  their  advance.  Standing  up  in  his  litter 
he  made  signs,  and  spoke  to  his  people.  He  was 
thought  to  be  calling  them  to  the  attack,  and  Pizarro, 
with  his  followers  sprang  forward  with  the  Spanish 
war-cry.  It  was  responded  to  by  the  concealed  soldiers, 
who  rushed  into  the  square.  Whether  they  were  armed 
or  not  the  Indians  made  no  resistance,  except  im- 
mediately round  the  royal  person.  The  bearers  of  the 
litter  were  killed,  and  the  Inca,  with  all  his  clothes  torn 
off  in  the  struggle,  was  dragged  from  under  the  litter 
and  made  prisoner.  A  terrible  slaughter  was  made  of 
the  Indians,  but  the  only  wound  on  the  other  side  was 
a  slight  scratch  received  by  Pizarro,  from  one  of  his 
own  men  as  the  conqueror  was  defending  the  life  of 
Atahualpa,  whom  he  preferred  to  take  alive. 

The  plunder  of  the  camp  of  the  Peruvians  was 
enormous,  and  while  Pizarro  kept  Atahualpa  prisoner, 
Spaniards  were  sent  out  to  seize  and  rifle  the  great 


The  Conquest  of  Peru.  99 

cities  and  temples  of  Peru.  One  hundred  and  sixty 
men  had  in  fact  subdued  a  warlike  nation  of  eleven 
millions,  by  the  seizure  of  their  chief.  Atahualpa  was 
at  first  kept  as  Montezuma  had  been,  and  allowed  to 
see  his  courtiers,  and  to  send  out  orders.  Meanwhile 
his  armies  had  conquered  his  brother  Huascar,  and 
made  him  prisoner.  It  is  not  certain  that  Atahualpa 
actually  commanded  that  his  brother  should  be  put  to 
death,  but  it  was  done,  and,  though  he  seemed  to 
mourn,  the  Spaniards  thought  his  grief  was  only 
feigned.  An  enormous  ransom  in  gold  was  to  be  paid 
by  him,  and  the  metal  was  to  be  piled  on  the  floor  of 
an  apartment  about  twenty  feet  square  till  it  reached  a 
line  nine  feet  from  the  floor.  While  the  ransom  was 
yet  incomplete,  it  was  found  expedient  to  divide  what 
had  been  received.  A  fifth  was  sent  to  the  King  of 
Spain,  and  the  rest  was  shared  among  the  soldiers. 
Almagro  and  a  fresh  troop  of  three  hundred  men,  who 
reached  Caxamarca  about  this  time,  found  that  they 
were  not  by  any  means  to  share  on  equal  terms  with 
the  first  comers. 

They  therefore  did  not  want  the  collection  of  the 
ransom  to  go  on,  and  wished  to  be  able  to  plunder  for 
themselves.  So  they  were  bent  on  the  Inca's  death, 
and  there  were  continual  reports  that  he  was  secretly 
calling  on  his  people  to  raise  an  army  and  deliver 


ioo  Stories  of  American  History. 

him.  This  was  the  natural  thing  for  him  to  do,  but  the 
Spaniards  called  it  treachery.  One  night  two  Indians 
came  in,  and  said  that  a  great  force  was  marching  on 
Caxamarca.  Thereupon  the  Spaniards  decided  upon 
instantly  trying  the  unhappy  Peruvian  king,  according 
to  the  form  of  their  own  Spanish  law.  Of  course  they 
convicted  him,  and  then  they  sentenced  him  to  death, 
and  that  by  fire,  unless  he  would  become  a  Christian. 
It  was  put  to  the  vote  whether  this  cruel  sentence 
should  be  carried  out,  and  among  four  hundred 
Spaniards,  there  were  only  fifty  to  vote  for  the  life  of 
their  captive.  Atahualpa  loudly  complained  of  the 
injustice  and  wickedness  of  the  sentence,  but  in  vain. 
He  was  led  out  into  the  great  square  of  Caxamarca, 
and  there,  when  he  saw  the  stake  and  fagots,  con- 
sented to  be  baptized.*  This  was  done,  and  Juan  de 
Atahualpa,  by  which  name  he  was  baptized,  was  then 
bound  to  the  stake  and  strangled.  He  was  buried 
with  all  the  honors  of  a  Spaniard  and  a  Christian. 

The  royal  tassel  was  given  to  one  of  his  brothers, 
who  was  in  the  hands  of  the  Spaniards,  but  who, 
before  long,  pined  and  died  of  grief,  at  the  hardness 
with  which  he  was  treated,  and  the  miseries  of  his 

*  August  2gth.  This  day  is  sometimes  kept  as  the  day  of  the 
beheading  or  martyrdom  of  John  the  Baptist.  For  this  reason 
the  Inca  was  baptized  Juan  or  John. 


The  Conquest  of  Peru. 


101 


country.  Cuzco,  the  capital  city,  was  entered  with 
little  difficulty,  and  there  the  Spaniards  perfectly 
gorged  themselves  with  plunder.  Above  all,  they 
ravaged  the  great  Temple  of  the  Sun,  where  there  was 
a  huge  disk  of  the  sun  himself.  This  was  seized  by  a 
common  soldier,  and  gambled  away  in  a  single  night's 
play.  There  were  also  figures  of  men,  women,  animals, 
and  plants,  such  as  Indian  corn,  made  in  solid  gold,  of 
beautiful  workmanship.  All  alike  were  the  prey  of 
these  rude,  ignorant  men,  who  melted  them  down,  and 
gambled  and  reveled  with  the  cost.  And  as  to  the 
cruelties  suffered  by  the  people,  they  surpass  all 
thought  or  words. 


CHAP.   XIV.— THE   CIVIL   WAR  IN   PERU. 


1535- 

ONORS  and  rewards  came  forth  from  Spain 
to  the  conquerors  of  this  new  empire.  Pizarro 
was  created  a  marquis ;  and  Diego  de  Almagro  a 
marshal,  and  governor  of  all  the  country  to  the  south ; 
while  Valverde,  the  chaplain,  was  to  be  Bishop  of 
Cuzco.  While  crowds  of  Spaniards  flocked  to  Peru, 
soldiers,  sailors,  and  adventurers  of  all  kinds,  to  enjoy 
the  spoil,  a  new  city  was  founded  by  Pizarro,  on  the 
coast.  He  called  it  Ciudad  de  los  Reyes,  or  City  of  the 
Kings,  after  the  three  kings  or  Magi,  because  it  was 
founded  on  the  festival  of  the  Epiphany,  1535,  but 
it  took  and  kept  the  name  of  Lima.  There  was 
much  dispute  between  Almagro  and  the  brothers  of 
Pizarro,  who  held  the  government  of  Cuzco,  as  to 
whether  that  city  belonged  to  Almagro's  jurisdic- 
tion or  that  of  Pizarro.  An  agreement  was  reached 
as  the  parties  were  on  the  eve  of  blows,  and  Al- 


The  Civil  War  in  Peru.  103 

magro  set  out  to  subdue  Chili,  the  country  to  the 
south. 

Manco,  the  brother  of  Huascar,  had  appealed  to 
Pizarro  as  the  rightful  heir  to  the  throne  of  the  Incas ; 
and  the  Spaniards  went  through  the  ceremony  of  his 
coronation,  and  presented  him  to  his  countrymen  as 
their  future  sovereign.  But  he  was  really  held  in  a 
sort  of  captivity,  and  demanded  the  powers  as  well  as 
the  title  of  Inca.  Making  his  escape  from  the 
Spaniards,  he  put  himself  at  the  head  of  his  people, 
and  made  desperate  attempts  to  free  the  land  from  the 
white  men,  who  were  cruelly  oppressing  the  whole 
country  even  beyond  the  wont  of  their  nation,  and 
destroying  the  temples  of  their  gods.  Manco  had  two 
large  gold  vessels  full  of  the  native  wine  brought 
before  him,  and  called  on  all  who  tasted  it  to  pledge 
themselves  that  not  a  Christian  should  be  left  alive  in 
Peru. 

Then  he  attacked  Cuzco,  where  the  Spaniards  found 
themselves  in  very  great  danger,  and  there  was  fighting 
from  street  to  street  and  house  to  house,  but  at  last  the 
assailants  were  beaten  off  with  terrible  slaughter  by 
Pizarro's  three  brothers.  Manco  surrounded  Cuzco 
with  Indian  troops,  and  the  Spaniards  were  besieged 
there  for  several  months.  Sorties  were  made,  and 
there  raged  a  terrible  war  in  which  Spaniards  and 


IO4  Stories  of  American  History. 

Indians  killed  each  other  whenever  they  met ;  and 
among  those  who  fell  was  Juan  Pizarro,  one  of  the 
brothers.  Manco  Inca  withdrew  to  the  mountainous 
districts,  where  he  could  elude  capture,  repel  assaults, 
and  reject  overtures  at  treaties ;  now  hold  parleys  and 
then  could  descend  and  harass  the  Spaniards.  One 
of  the  Spanish  visitors  at  his  camp,  named  Gomez 
Perez,  who  was  teaching  him  to  play  at  bowls,  on 
some  dispute  about  the  game,  threw  a  bowl  at  his 
head,  which  caused  his  death,  thus  ending  the  dynasty 
of  the  Incas. 

During  these  disturbances  Almagro  came  back 
from  Chili.  He  had  made  a  miserable  journey  through 
the  frozen  passes  of  the  Andes,  and  had  met  with  no 
empire  and  no  gold.  So  he  persuaded  himself  and  his 
men  that  Cuzco  was  part  of  the  government  which 
the  Emperor  had  assigned  to  him.  He  came  to  the 
walls,  and  summoned  Fernando  Pizarro  to  give  it  up 
to  him.  Of  course,  Fernando  sent  down  to  Francisco, 
the  marquis,  at  Lima,  for  orders ;  but  before  instruc- 
tions could  arrive,  Almagro  crept  into  the  town  by 
night  and  filled  it  with  his  men.  Fernando  and  Gon- 
zalo  Pizarro  defended  themselves  in  the  palace  of  the 
Incas,  till  it  was  set  on  fire  and  the  roof  began  to 
fall  in  on  them,  when  they  yielded  and  were  put  in 
chains.  Almagro  then  prepared  to  descend  to  the 


The  Civil  War  in  Peru.  105 

sea-coast,  and  establish  a  port  for  himself.  He  took 
Fernando  Pizarro  with  him,  leaving  Gonzalo  under 
guard  in  Cuzco.  On  his  march  he  learned  that  Gon- 
zalo had  escaped  and  joined  his  brother  Francisco,  at 
Lima.  A  correspondence  now  took  place  between 
Francisco  Pizarro  and  Almagro ;  an  interview  was  ap- 
pointed to  be  held  at  Mala,  and  the  dispute  to  be  sub- 
mitted for  arbitration  to  a  single  umpire,  Fray  Fran- 
cisco de  Bovadilla.  The  two  old  partners  met,  but 
not  in  the  most  affectionate  manner.  Meanwhile  it 
was  discovered  that  Gonzalo  Pizarro  was  moving  on 
Mala  with  a  body  of  troops.  The  conference  had  be- 
come very  like  a  quarrel,  when  one  of  the  cavaliers 
present  gave  Almagro  notice  by  singing  from  an  old 

ballad : 

"  Time  it  is,  Sir  Knight,  I  say, 
Time  it  is  thou  wert  away." 

Another  brought  a  horse  to  the  door,  on  which  Al- 
magro mounted  and  galloped  off.  The  marquis  de- 
clared that  he  did  not  know  of  his  brother's  advance. 
Almagro  did  not  believe  him ;  and  when  Fray  Bova- 
dilla decided  that  Cuzco  must  be  surrendered  to  Pi- 
zarro until  a  scrutiny  should  determine  the  question, 
and  that  Fernando  Pizarro  should  be  set  at  liberty  on 
condition  of  his  leaving  the  country,  the  Almagro  party 
declared  that  it  was  an  unjust  judgment,  and  that  Al- 


io6  Stories  of  American  History. 

magro  should  not  submit  to  it.  So  furious  were  the 
threats  of  Almagro's  men,  and  so  great  was  the  dan- 
ger of  Fernando,  that  Francisco  Pizarro  conceded  that 
Cuzco  should  remain  in  the  hands  of  Almagro,  and 
Fernando  was  liberated.  The  Pizarros  and  Almagro 
held  an  exchange  of  civilities,  the  agreement  was  rati- 
fied, and  Almagro  was  persuaded  that  a  cordial  settle- 
ment had  been  made.  But  the  marquis  instantly  set 
about  preparations  for  renewal  of  the  war.  He  notified 
Almagro  that  the  treaty  was  at  an  end  ;  he  persuaded 
his  brother  Fernando  to  break  his  pledge  to  leave 
the  country,  and  gave  him  command  of  the  army. 
Fernando  Pizarro  marched  to  recover  Cuzco.  He  met 
the  army  of  Almagro  at  a  place  called  Salinas,  or  salt- 
pits,  near  the  city.  There  was  a  fierce  battle  in  which 
Almagro  was  defeated,  the  city  was  taken,  and  Alma- 
gro made  prisoner.  He  was  thrown  into  prison,  brought 
to  trial,  and  put  to  death  on  the  8th  of  July,  1538. 

Francisco,  the  marquis,  it  is  said  by  his  friends,  did 
not  know  what  was  going  on  in  Cuzco  till  all  was 
over ;  and  wept  bitterly  for  the  old  friend  who  had 
turned  into  a  foe.  Fernando  soon  afterward  went  home 
to  Spain  ;  and  there,  being  called  to  account  by  the 
relatives  of  Almagro,  was  imprisoned  for  twenty-three 
years.  He  was  at  last  released,  and  lived  on  his  own 
estate  to  be  a  hundred  years  old. 


The  Civil  War  in  Peru.  107 

The  Marquis  Francisco  Pizarro  was  for  the  pres- 
ent undisputed  governor,  for  Almagro's  son  and  other 
friends  were  waiting  for  a  judge  from  Spain,  who  they 
expected  would  take  vengeance  for  the  marshal.  Pi- 
zarro sent  his  master  of  the  horse,  Pedro  de  Valdivia, 
to  subdue  Chili ;  and  the  names  of  a  province,  a  river, 
and  a  sea-port  town  still  witness  to  the  success  of  that 
leader.  Gonzalo  Pizarro  was  sent  to  act  against  the 
natives  of  Charcas,  and  there  won  an  exceedingly  rich 
country,  where  the  mines  of  Potosi  were  afterward 
discovered.  He  was  appointed  Governor  of  Quito, 
beyond  which  he  was  told  there  was  a  country  full  of 
cinnamon-trees.  In  search  of  this  he  set  out  with 
three  hundred  Spaniards  and  four  thousand  Indians. 
They  crossed  the  mountains  through  frightful  snow 
and  ice,  and  at  last  arrived  at  a  province  called  Sumaco, 
where  they  did  not  find  good  trees,  and  where  they 
are  said  to  have  been  very  cruel  to  the  Indians.  Push- 
ing on  eastward,  they  came  to  a  perfect  net-work  of 
rivers,  with  marshy  country  between  them ;  and  won- 
derful trees,  creepers,  and  ferns  through  which  they  had 
to  cut  their  way.  At  last  they  stopped  and  built  them- 
selves a  bark,  which  carried  the  sick  and  the  baggage 
down  the  river  Coca,  while  the  rest  went  along  the 
bank,  cutting  their  way  with  hatchets.  After  two 
months,  when  they  were  almost  starved,  they  came  to 


io8  Stories  of  American  History. 

some  Indians,  whose  language  the  Peruvians  under- 
stood enough  to  know  that  they  said  that  this  river 
joined  another  very  large  one  ten  days  off,  and  that 
there  would  be  plenty  of  food.  Gonzalo  therefore  re- 
solved to  send  the  bark  down  the  river,  with  a  brave 
captain,  Francisco  de  Orellana,  and  to  wait  himself  for 
its  return. 

In  three  days,  going  with  the  stream,  Orellana  came 
to  the  junction  of  the  Coca  and  the  Napo,  but  he  found 
no  food  ;  and  as  he  declared  he  should  be  a  year  forc- 
ing his  way  back  up  the  rapid  current,  he  persuaded  his 
men,  not  without  difficulty,  to  abandon  their  comrades 
to  their  fate,  and  go  on  down  the  river  till  it  reached 
the  sea.  Only  two  men,  a  priest  and  a  knight  named 
Sanchen  de  Vargas,  were  faithful  enough  to  refuse,  and 
were  left  behind  to  perish  in  the  forest.  Orellana  safely 
reached  the  sea,  having  made  his  way  down  the  mighty 
flood  called  the  Maranon,  which  has  taken  the  name 
of  the  Amazon,  because  he  saw  some  women  with 
bows  and  arrows  on  the  banks.  It  was  in  1541  that 
this  traitor  was  the  first  to  cross  the  continent.  Gon- 
zalo, after  waiting  long  for  him  to  come  back,  followed 
the  course  of  the  Coca  down  to  its  junction  with  the 
Napo.  There  they  found  young  Vargas,  who  told 
them  the  course  Orellana  had  taken.  The  party  then 
turned  back,  and  struggled  through  horrible  miseries 


The  Civil  War  in  Peru.  109 

to  Peru  again.  The  return  march  occupied  more  than 
a  year.  When,  half  naked,  sick,  and  starved,  the  sur- 
vivors of  the  expedition,  less  than  half,  reached  Quito, 
it  was  to  hear  that  Francisco  Pizarro  had  been  mur- 
dered in  his  own  house  in  Lima,  by  conspirators,  friends 
of  Almagro,  on  the  26th  of  June,  1541,  after  defending 
himself  bravely. 

A  judge  named  Vaca  de  Castro  had  arrived  from 
Spain  just  before  the  death  of  Pizarro,  with  a  commis- 
sion to  assist  the  marquis  in  tranquillizing  the  country, 
and  in  the  event  of  the  death  of  Pizarro  to  succeed 
him.  He  had  not  entered  upon  his  duties,  or  even 
reached  Lima,  when  the  assassination  took  place.  But 
he  instantly  assumed  the  direction  of  matters,  civil  and 
military,  conquered  the  adherents  of  the  son  of  Alma- 
gro, who  had  risen  in  arms,  and  executed  that  young 
man  with  others,  his  associates.  He  was  an  upright, 
honest  man,  and  Gonzalo  Pizarro  consented  to  lay 
aside  all  further  thought  of  revenge  or  ambition,  and 
retired  to  the  estate  near  Potosi  which  his  brother  had 
assigned  to  him. 


CHAP.  XV.— PROTECTION    FOR  THE 
INDIANS. 

1542—1566. 

/TV HE  poor  Peruvians,  once  so  rich  and  happy,  had 
-*-  suffered  grievously  among  all  the  wars  of  their 
conquerors.  The  good  Las  Casas,  the  friend  of  the 
Indians,  went  home  to  Spain  to  plead  their  cause  with 
the  Emperor ;  and  a  set  of  rules  were  authorized  for 
their  protection  in  all  the  Spanish  colonies.  These 
were  called  the  "  New  Laws."  The  repartimiento  of 
Indians  was  not  to  pass  to  a  man's  heirs  at  his  death, 
but  it  was  to  go  to  the  king,  which  meant  release, 
No  repartimiento  was  to  be  held  by  any  bishop,  abbot, 
or  officer  of  the  crown  ;  all  lands  were  to  be  forfeited 
by  those  who  had  been  concerned  in  rebellion,  and 
no  personal  slavery  was  to  be  exacted  from  the  In- 
dians. 

Good  and  humane  governors  were  chosen  to  en- 
force these  laws  in  the  isles,  in  Mexico,  and  in  Peru. 


Protection  for  the  Indians.  1 1 1 

In  Hispaniola,  however,  there  was  hardly  an  Indian 
left  alive  ;  and  Negro  slavery  was  fast  coming  in,  and 
it  was  much  the  same  in  Cuba  and  Jamaica.  On  the 
continent,  the  Spaniards  thought  the  New  Laws  the 
height  of  injustice  ;  and  when  the  new  governor  ar- 
rived in  Mexico,  they  had  nearly  resolved  to  go  out 
and  meet  him  in  mourning.  He  found  that  if  he  en- 
deavored to  carry  out  the  New  Laws  there  would 
certainly  be  a  rebellion  which  he  could  not  repress; 
and  he  sent  letters  back  to  represent  the  matter  to  the 
Emperor. 

In  Peru,  Vaca  de  Castro,  whose  wise  measures  are 
related  in  the  last  chapter,  was  succeeded  by  Blasco 
Nufiez  Vela.  When  the  new  viceroy  arrived  at  Lima, 
the  first  thing  he  saw  was  a  placard:  "Him  who 
comes  to  thrust  out  of  my  estate  I  shall  thrust  out  of 
the  world."  Vela  was  not  terrified,  but  very  angry, 
and  he  was  determined  to  carry  out  his  orders.  He 
did  hasty  deeds,  and  made  many  enemies,  who  all 
went  over  to  join  Gonzalo  Pizarro,  making  him  the 
head  of  a  rebellion  against  the  New  Laws  and  their 
enforcement.  Gonzalo  procured  the  support  of  the 
people  as  Captain-General  of  Peru  ;  and  Blasco  Nunez 
was  compelled  either  to  surrender  his  authority  or 
to  assert  it  by  force  of  arms.  He  was  hunted  down, 
defeated,  and  killed,  an  old  personal  enemy  causing 


112  Stories  of  American  History. 

his  head  to  be  struck  off  even  while  he  was  dying  of 
his  wounds.  Gonzalo  Pizarro  remained  Governor  of 
Peru,  hoping  to  be  confirmed  in  his  power  by  the 
Emperor. 

A  lawyer  priest  named  Pedro  de  la  Gasca  was 
appointed  to  bring  Peru  into  order.  He  bore  a  con- 
ciliatory message  from  the  Emperor  directing  Pizarro 
to  co-operate  with  him  in  restoring  order.  Pizarro 
refused  to  receive  the  imperial  clemency,  and  raised 
the  standard  of  rebellion.  The  only  way  of  reaching 
Peru  was,  then,  to  cross  the  Isthmus  and  sail  from 
Panama ;  and  Gonzalo  had  plenty  of  time  to  prepare. 
He  had  nine  hundred  Spaniards  who  were  ready  to 
join  with  him  in  fighting  for  the  Province.  He 
gained  one  great  victory ;  but  after  that  he  was  de- 
feated again  and  again,  and  forced  to  yield  himself  a 
prisoner.  He  was  tried,  found  guilty  of  treason,  and 
executed  in  the  year  1548.  Two  of  his  brothers  had 
before  died  deaths  of  violence.  The  other  of  the  four 
was  in  prison  in  Spain.  The  great  conquest  had 
brought  little  good  to  the  conqueror  and  his  family. 
Bloodshed  brought  on  bloodshed,  and  the  death  of 
Atahualpa  was  visited  on  them. 

Gasca  had  put  down  rebellion  from  Panama  to 
Chili,  and  had  an  enormous  spoil  in  his  hands,  includ- 
ing the  newly  discovered  mines  of  Potosi — the  richest 


Protection  for  the  Indians.  113 

silver  mines  in  the  world.  All  the  lands  were  to  be 
redistributed  ;  and  his  arrangements,  which  were  meant 
to  be  merciful  and  just,  raised  in  some  directions  a 
spirit  of  discontent  and  some  disorder.  But  the  mu- 
tinous spirits  were  appeased  or  vanquished,  and  the 
authority  of  the  King  of  Spain  was  at  last  firmly 
established  about  the  time  that  Charles  V  abdicated, 
and  Philip  II  became  King  of  Spain  in  1555. 

The  Peruvians  accepted  the  Christian  faith,  and  the 
church  was  endowed  with  great  splendor.  Indeed, 
the  clergy  deserved  all  praise  for  the  steadfast  efforts 
they  made  for  the  protection  of  the  Indian  races ;  and 
it  is  owing  to  their  constant  witness  against  cruelty, 
and  appeals  to  the  sovereign  against  the  wickedness 
of  the  colonists,  that  there  is  still  a  considerable  native 
population  in  Peru. 

Las  Casas  was  offered  the  bishopric  of  Cuzco,  but 
would  not  accept  it.  However,  when  he  was  offered 
the  bishopric  of  Chiapa,  the  chief  of  the  Dominican 
Order  insisted  on  his  taking  it,  since  otherwise  there 
would  be  no  one  to  see  that  the  New  Laws  were 
carried  out,  and  the  Indians  saved  from  oppression. 
Chiapa  is  that  portion  of  Central  America  which  lies 
south  of  the  peninsula  of  Yucatan,  and  it  had  been 
settled  by  Spaniards  who  hated  Las  Casas  beyond 
all  measure.  There  was  hardly  a  white  layman  in 


H4  Stories  of  American  History. 

the  New  World  who  did  not  look  on  this  good  man 
as  his  enemy,  and  think  that  the  notion  of  saving 
Indians  from  slavery  was  as  absurd  as  declaring  that 
oxen  and  horses  ought  to  be  free.  If  he  went  out  of 
the  capital,  Ciudad  Real,  they  closed  the  gates  against 
him ;  they  fought  against  him,  abused  him,  tried  to 
starve  him,  and  threatened  him ;  but  all  this  was  vain 
against  one  who  lived  like  the  poorest  of  monks,  and 
would  have  been  glad  to  die  as  a  martyr.  He  held  his 
ground  till  he  had  set  up  various  convents  of  Domini- 
cans, who  were  sure  to  protect  the  Indians;  and  he 
only  licensed  as  confessors  men  who  would  only  give 
absolution  to  those  who  abstained  from  wanton  injus- 
tice and  cruelty  to  the  natives.  Even  the  wildest  and 
fiercest  Spaniard  thought  with  horror  of  going  unab- 
solved,  and  thus  these  confessors  really  were  able  to 
prevent  much  cruelty. 

There  was  to  be  a  great  synod  of  the  clergy  at 
Mexico,  and  thither  Las  Casas  went  to  attend  it.  But 
the  news  of  his  coming  raised  such  a  tumult  among  the 
Spaniards,  who  hated  him  for  hindering  their  cruelties, 
and  interfering  with  their  gains,  that  the  Government 
bade  him  wait  till  men's  minds  were  calmed  down. 
However,  he  came  safely  in,  and  the  synod  was  held. 
There  four  great  rules  were  laid  down  :  First,  that 
heathen  kings  had  as  much  right  to  their  lands  as 


Protection  for  the  Indians.  1 1 5 

Christians ;  second,  that  the  Pope  had  given  the  New 
World  to  the  kings  of  Spain,  not  to  make  them  richer, 
but  that  the  Faith  might  be  spread ;  third,  that  the 
Indians  were  not  to  be  despoiled  of  their  lands  or 
riches ;  fourth,  that  the  kings  of  Spain  were  bound  to 
pay  the  expenses  of  missions  to  them.  These  were 
excellent  decisions,  and  Las  Casas  set  out  to  carry 
them  to  Spain.  He  never  returned,  finding  he  could 
do  more  for  the  Indians,  by  pleading  their  cause  with 
the  king,  than  by  struggling  with  the  colonists. 

He  did  so  with  effect.  Once,  when  Philip  II 
needed  money,  he  was  told  that,  if  he  would  do  away 
with  the  claim  of  the  Crown  to  all  a  man's  Indians  at 
his  death,  each  colonist  would  pay  largely.  But,  on 
the  showing  of  Las  Casas  that  this  meant  making  them 
slaves  forever,  he  refused.  Tributes  were  laid  upon 
the  Indians,  and  they  underwent  much  harshness  and 
ferocious  cruelty  ;  but  the  great  Las  Casas  saved  them 
from  absolute  slavery.  The  bishops,  priests,  and  fri- 
ars watched  over  them,  and  hindered  the  Spaniards 
from  the  horrors  they  had  practiced  in  Hispaniola  and 
Cuba ;  and  thus  the  Indian  race  was  saved  from  utter 
extinction  in  Mexico  and  Peru,  and  became  Christian. 

Las  Casas  lived  chiefly  in  a  convent  in  Spain,  al- 
ways watching  to  hinder  any  measure  which  would 
bear  hardly  on  the  natives.  He  wrote  a  history  of  the 


n6 


Stories  of  American  History. 


Indians,  and,  when  ninety  years  old,  a  treatise  on 
Peru.  Two  years  later  he  came  to  Madrid  to  beg  the 
king  to  give  the  people  in  Guatemala  a  court  of  justice 
of  their  own.  The  journey  was  too  much  for  him,  and 
he  died  at  ninety-two  years  of  age  at  Madrid,  in  1566, 
leaving  a  noble  name  behind  him. 


CHAP.    XVI.— ENGLISH    NORTH    AMERI- 
CAN   DISCOVERIES. 

1524—1580. 

LL  the  discoveries  in  the  New  World  had 
hitherto  remained  in  the  possession  of  Spain, 
except  Brazil.  By  the  demarkation  line  of  the  Pope 
that  country  belonged  to  Portugal,  and  was  claimed 
under  the  accidental  discovery  of  Cabral,  in  1500. 
The  boundaries  of  Brazil,  as  arranged  by  treaty  be- 
tween Portugal  and  Spain,  were  the  Amazon  on  the 
north  and  the  Rio  de  la  Plata  on  the  south.  Subse- 
quent treaties  varied  the  boundaries,  especially  on  the 
west.  As  the  valuable  mines  of  Brazil  were  not  dis- 
covered until  a  century  later,  there  was  the  less  reason 
for  dispute.  In  1580  Philip  II  of  Spain  claimed  the 
crown  of  Portugal,  and  annexed  that  kingdom  to 
Spain. 

In  1524  Francis  I  of  France,  protesting  that  he 
"  did  not  think  that  God  had  created  these  new  coun- 


n8  Stories  of  American  History. 

tries  only  for  Spain,"  authorized  an  exploring  expedi- 
tion in  behalf  of  French  interests.  The  commander 
was  Giovanni  Verazzani,  a  Florentine.  He  coasted  the 
northern  continent  from  the  tract  now  known  as  the 
Carolinas  up  to  Nova  Scotia,  and  took  possession  of 
it  under  the  name  of  New  France.  The  disturbed 
condition  of  France  prevented  the  immediate  further 
prosecution  of  discovery.  Ten  years  later,  Jacques 
Cartier  made  his  first  voyage  to  the  northern  portion 
of  the  continent.  A  second  was  made  immediately 
after  his  return,  and  a  third  in  1541.  These  voyages 
accomplished  little  but  geographical  discovery. 

In  1555  a  party  of  French  refugee  Reformers 
attempted  a  settlement  in  Rio  Janeiro.  The  bad 
character  of  their  leader  and  dissensions  among  them- 
selves brought  the  colony  to  the  verge  of  ruin,  and 
the  Portuguese  completed  its  destruction.  In  1562 
the  distinguished  French  Huguenot,  Coligny,  obtained 
from  the  French  crown  permission  to  plant  a  colony 
of  Huguenots  in  the  New  World.  A  first  attempt 
was  made  on  the  coast  of  Florida,  near  its  northern 
limit,  and  abandoned.  A  second  was  undertaken  under 
the  same  auspices,  in  1564,  but,  in  its  tragical  termina- 
tion, furnishes  one  of  the  darkest  passages  in  colonial 
history.  The  site  chosen  was  at  the  mouth  of  the  St. 
John's  River.  Though  the  promoters  of  the  colony 


English  North  American  Discoveries.        119 

professed  religious  motives,  the  colonists  included 
desperate  men,  who  engaged  in  piracy  against  the 
Spaniards.  Jacques  de  Soria,  a  Huguenot  pirate  from 
La  Rochelle,  captured  a  vessel  with  forty  Jesuit  priests, 
who  were  on  their  way  to  act  as  missionaries  to  the 
Indians,  and  murdered  them  all,  peaceful  men  though 
they  were. 

Spanish  jealousy  was  aroused.  An  expedition 
under  Pedro  Melendez  de  Avilles  was  fitted  out  for 
the  colonization  of  Florida.  Melendez  landed  at  St. 
Augustine,  so  named  by  him,  claimed  the  continent 
for  the  crown  of  Spain,  and  laid  the  foundation  of  the 
city  in  1565.  From  St.  Augustine,  Melendez  marched 
through  the  forests  to  the  French  colony  on  the  St. 
John's.  The  garrison  was  surprised,  and  in  the 
massacre  which  followed  nine  hundred  persons  are 
said  to  have  been  murdered,  though  Spanish  accounts 
give  a  less  number.  In  1567  Dominic  de  Gourges,  a 
native  of  Gascony,  fitted  out  an  expedition  to  avenge 
the  fall  of  the  French  colony.  He  surprised  the 
Spaniards  who  had  erected  forts  on  the  site  of  the 
Huguenot  settlement,  hanged  his  prisoners,  and  de- 
parted. The  French  Government  disowned  the  ex- 
pedition, and  gave  up  all  claim  to  Florida. 

The  English  had,  in  the  time  of  Henry  VIII, 
sent  out  Sebastian  Cabot,  who  had  discovered  New- 


I2O  Stories  of  American  History. 

foundland.  Their  first  notion  was,  that  as  Magellan 
had  found  a  passage  to  India  by  the  southwest, 
and  Vasco  de  Gama  by  the  southeast,  they  would 
try  what  could  be  done  by  the  north.  In  the  time 
of  Edward  VI,  in  1553,  Sir  Hugh  Willoughby 
had  tried  a  passage  to  the  northeast,  but  had  been 
overtaken  by  the  winter,  and  was  found  frozen  to 
death,  with  all  his  crew,  on  the  pitiless  rocks  of  Rus- 
sian Lapland. 

In  this  same  year  a  company  of  merchant  adven- 
turers was  formed  in  England,  both  for  discovery  and 
for  traffic.  They  fitted  out  various  ships,  and  among 
their  most  noted  members  were  twa  Devonshire  broth- 
ers, William  and  John  Hawkins,  sons  of  a  captain  who 
had  once  traded  with  Brazil.  Their  first  voyages  were 
made  for  the  purpose  of  catching  Negroes  on  the  coast 
of  Guinea,  to  sell  to  the  Spaniards  in  Hispaniola. 
Thus  began  that  share  in  the  slave-trade  which  re- 
mained the  shame  of  England  for  two  centuries,  but 
which  was  in  those  days  thought  no  crime,  as  it  was 
held  that  wild  savage  natives  might  be  brought  into 
bondage,  if  they  were  taught  Christianity.  Such  voya- 
ges opened  to  John  Hawkins  and  his  comrade,  Francis 
Drake,  the  way  to  what  was  then  called  the  Spanish 
Main.  After  having  made  four  voyages  as  a  slave-trader, 
Drake  resolved  to  make  his  fifth  as  a  plunderer. 


English  North  American  Discoveries.        121 

There  was,  indeed,  no  war  between  Queen  Elizabeth 
and  Philip  II,  but  they  bitterly  hated  one  another, 
and  the  English  had  heard  enough  of  Spanish  cruelty 
to  think  it  a  virtuous  thing  to  hunt  down  a  Spaniard. 
The  city  of  Nombre  de  Dios,  on  the  Isthmus  of 
Panama,  was  the  place  where  the  silver  and  gold 
collected  from  Mexico  and  Peru  was  received  and  em- 
barked in  heavy  vessels,  called  galleons,  to  be  taken  to 
Spain. 

In  1572  Drake  sailed  with  two  ships,  to  try  to 
plunder  these  riches,  hoping  to  surprise  the  place. 
However,  the  Spaniards  had  been  warned,  and  were 
on  the  alert,  and  the  English  vessels  were  beaten  off, 
though  not  before  they  had  secured  a  great  deal  of 
booty.  They  entered  the  Gulf  of  Darien,  taking  sev- 
eral treasure-ships  by  the  way.  Here  Francis  Drake 
landed,  and  climbed  a  high  mountain  whence  he  could 
see  the  waters  of  the  Pacific.  He  made  a  resolution 
that  on  the  western  ocean  he  would  sail  an  English 
ship. 

In  1576  Martin  Frobisher  tried  to  get  into  the 
Pacific  by  the  northwest.  His  ship,  the  Gabriel, 
reached  a  long  channel,  which  leads  from  Davis's  Strait 
to  Hudson's  Bay.  He  called  it  Frobisher's  Strait, 
which  name  it  still  bears.  He  thought  it  would 
certainly  lead  to  the  great  western  sea ;  but  he  lost 


122  Stories  of  American  History. 

his  boat  and  five  men,  who  were  taken  by  the  Esqui- 
maux, and  was  forced  to  come  back.  A  bit  of  black 
stone  which  had  been  picked  up  on  the  shore  was  sup- 
posed to  be  full  of  gold  ;  and  he  made  a  second  voyage 
with  three  ships  to  penetrate  the  passage  and  bring 
home  more  gold.  Of  course  the  passage  to  the  Pacific, 
through  Hudson's  Bay,  was  never  found  ;  and  though 
plenty  of  stone  was  brought  home,  no  gold  was  ever 
got  out  of  it,  and  Drake's  way  of  getting  the  precious 
metal  by  plunder  was  much  preferred. 

In  1577  Drake  set  forth  with  five  ships  and  one 
hundred  and  sixty-four  men  to  make  the  circuit  of  the 
earth.  They  preyed  on  all  Spanish  and  Portuguese 
ships  as  before,  and  thus  obtained  their  stores.  They 
crossed  toward  Brazil,  looked  into  the  Rio  de  la  Plata, 
then  coasted  along  Patagonia.  There  they  came  to  a 
gibbet  where  Magellan  had  hung  some  mutineers,  and, 
strangely  enough,  Drake  had  to  use  this  very  same 
gibbet  for  the  execution  of  a  man  named  Doughty, 
who  had  been  stirring  up  the  crews  against  him.  After 
much  prayer  for  protection  the  ships  safely  passed  the 
Straits  of  Magellan  ;  but  a  storm  afterward  blew  them 
so  far  south  that  the  voyagers  were  the  first  European 
navigators  who  beheld  Cape  Horn  and  the  Antarctic 
Ocean.  One  ship  was  lost,  and  the  others  were 
separated.  One  went  back  to  England,  but  Drake,  in 


English  North  American  Discoveries.       123 

the  Golden  Hind,  went  northward  up  the  coast  of 
Chili  and  Peru.  In  Callao,  the  port  of  Lima,  he  plun- 
dered seventeen  vessels. 


Queen  Elizabeth  knighting  Drake. 


124  Stories  of  American  History. 

His  notion  was  to  try  to  enter  the  northwest  pas- 
sage on  the  western  side,  and  so  come  home ;  but  he 
found  it  impossible,  on  account  of  sickness  among  his 
crew,  to  get  much  farther  north  than  California,  which 
he  never  guessed  to  be  a  gold  country.  And  then, 
striking  across  the  Pacific,  he  touched  at  various  of  the 
great  groups  of  islands  south  of  Asia,  which  were 
mostly  claimed  by  the  Portuguese.  Then  he  crossed 
the  Indian  Ocean,  rounded  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope, 
and  came  safely  to  England  on  the  26th  of  September, 
1580,  having  made  one  of  the  most  wonderful  voyages 
ever  accomplished.  Queen  Elizabeth  at  first  doubted 
whether  she  ought  to  reward  a  man  who  had  certainly 
been  a  pirate — doing  much  harm  to  a  king  with  whom 
she  did  not  profess  to  be  at  war ;  but  at  last  she  de- 
cided that,  as  every  one  looked  on  the  Spaniards 
as  fair  game,  she  would  go  with  the  stream.  So  she 
knighted  Drake,  dined  on  board  the  Golden  Hind,  and 
had  the  vessel  kept  for  a  show  ;  while  every  spirited 
young  man  longed  to  go  and  fight  on  the  Spanish 
Main,  and  the  galleons  sailed  from  the  West  Indies  in 
fear  and  trembling  of  the  terrible  Englishmen.  Each 
nation  looked  on  the  other  as  on  wild  beasts — deserv- 
ing no  mercy. 


CHAP.   XVIL— DISCOVERIES   ON 
THE   EASTERN    COAST. 

1536—1634. 

WE  have  seen  how  the  Portuguese  were  gradu- 
ally settling  Brazil,  and  drifting  into  that  por- 
tion of  South  America  which  projects  to  the  eastward 
of  the  longitudinal  boundary  line  between  the  grants 
of  the  Pope  to  Spain  and  to  Portugal. 

When  Francisco  de  Orellana  returned  to  Spain  with 
accounts  of  the  great  river  of  the  Amazons,  down 
which  he  had  sailed,  he  was  sent  out  with  four  ships 
and  four  hundred  men  to  make  a  settlement  and  sub- 
due the  country.  He  died  on  his  passage  out,  and  no 
Spanish  footing  was  made  in  the  land  of  the  Amazons. 
There  were  no  great  kingdoms  like  Mexico  and  Peru 
on  the  Atlantic  coast  of  South  America,  only  wild  In- 
dian tribes  with  caciques  living  in  little  villages.  Gold 
and  silver  were  much  harder  to  obtain,  although  the 
great  river  southward  of  Brazil  had  been  named  by 


126  Stories  of  American  History. 

Sebastian  Cabot,  the  Venetian,  the  Rio  de  la  Plata, 
or  River  of  Silver,  because  of  a  little  he  obtained  from 
the  natives. 

In  1534  Don  Pedro  de  Mendoza,  in  the  service  of 
Spain,  set  forth  to  make  a  settlement  on  this  river,  and 
to  look  for  the  silver.  He  began  to  build  a  city  on  a 
site  which  he  thought  so  healthy  that  he  named  it 
"  Nostra  Sefiora  de  Buenos  Ayres/'  But  the  air  did 
not  agree  with  him  ;  his  people  could  get  neither  silver 
nor  food ;  and  in  searching  vainly  for  a  way  of  getting 
across  to  Peru  they  came  upon  an  enormous  serpent, 
forty-five  feet  long,  and  as  thick  as  a  man's  body. 
After  four  years  of  misery  this  settlement  was  given 
up,  and  Mendoza  died  on  his  way  home. 

The  city  of  Buenos  Ayres  was  again  occupied,  and 
again  deserted.  Each  governor  of  the  province  of  the 
Rio  de  la  Plata  strove  to  find  a  passage  to  Peru.  But 
they  only  succeeded  in  partly  establishing  the  Spanish 
power  in  Paraguay,  which  settlement  was  declared  to 
be  attached  to  the  viceroyalty  of  Peru.  They  founded 
a  city  called  Asuncion,  or  Assumption,  which  is  still 
the  capital  of  Paraguay.  Another  settlement,  with  a 
bishopric,  was  founded  at  Tucuman.  In  this  manner, 
founding  settlements  and  defining  their  jurisdiction, 
the  Spaniards  had  traced  out  nearly  all  the  western 
coast  of  South  America,  claiming  the  possession. 


Discoveries  on  the  Eastern  Coast.  127 

They  had  small  settlements  here  and  there,  wherever 
there  was  gold,  or  silver,  or  spice  to  tempt  them. 
Conquest  spread  southward  from  Peru,  and  the  city  of 
Valparaiso,  or  the  Vale  of  Paradise,  was  founded  as  the 
capital  of  Chili. 

That  long  peninsula  which  hangs  down  from  the 
eastern  coast  of  the  northern  continent,  and  shuts  in 
the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  had  first  been  seen,  as  long  ago  as 
1512,  by  Juan  Ponce  de  Leon.  This  gentleman 
fancied  that  in  the  West  Indian  Islands  there  was  a 
fountain,  the  water  of  which  would  make  people  young 
again.  In  sailing  in  quest  of  it  he  came  upon  this 
peninsula,  which  he  took  for  another  island.  He  saw 
it  first  on  Palm  Sunday,  which  the  Spaniards  call 
Pascua  Florida,  and  thus  it  took  the  name  of  Florida. 
Afterward  parties  of  Spaniards  went  slave-catching 
there,  since  it  was  understood  that  all  Caribs  or 
cannibals  might  be  enslaved ;  and  it  was  easy  to  say 
that  all  natives  they  wanted  to  seize  were  such. 
But  Florida  slaves  were  sure  either  to  starve  them- 
selves to  death,  or  to  die  of  home-sickness.  Several 
attempts  were  made  at  forming  a  colony  in  Florida, 
but  sickness  or  war  generally  destroyed  all  the  settlers. 
One  man,  named  Cubeca  de  Vaca,  who  was  made 
prisoner,  became  a  sort  of  god  to  the  Floridians,  who 
thought  him  a  child  of  the  sun,  worshiped  him,  and 


128  Stories  of  American  History. 

carried  him  about  on  their  shoulders,  in  awe  and 
trembling,  till  he  made  his  escape  into  Mexico.  He 
tried  to  teach  them  the  true  faith,  but  did  not  under- 
stand enough  of  their  language.  However,  at  last  a 
settlement  was  made  in  Florida,  but  the  Spaniards 
never  spread  any  farther  to  the  northward,  partly 
because  it  was  too  cold  for  them,  and  partly  because 
there  was  no  promise  of  gold. 

The  settlers  on  the  Rio  de  la  Plata  and  in  Para- 
guay had  a  different  character  of  natives  to  deal  with. 
The  Araucanian  Indians  were  desperate  warriors,  and 
had  a  cacique,  Carpolican,  who  made  a  resistance  so 
brave  that  a  poem  was  written  on  him.  Nor  have 
these  Indians  ever  been  entirely  subdued;  they  remain 
still  free,  under  their  own  government. 

The  Bishop  of  Tucuman  invited  the  Jesuit  priests 
to  assist  in  the  conversion  of  Paraguay.  This  order 
was  at  that  time  composed  of  the  most  ardent  of  mis- 
sionaries among  the  Europeans,  and  eight  of  the 
Fathers  came  out,  mostly  Spaniards  and  Italians,  but 
one  Scotch  by  birth.  They  had  learned  something  by 
the  failure  of  some  missionaries,  and  by  the  success 
of  Las  Casas  and  the  Dominicans  with  certain  wild 
tribes  in  Mexico,  in  making  the  Land  of  War  the  Land 
of  Peace.  The  plan  of  the  Jesuits  was  to  go  about  in 
pairs,  after  having  learned  the  Indian  language,  and 


Discoveries  on  the  Eastern  Coast.  129 

make  little  settlements  with  churches  and  schools,  a 
dwelling  for  the  cacique  close  to  the  priest,  and  cot- 
tages and  gardens  for  the  Indians,  who  were  to  be 
trained  in  cultivating  their  land,  and  in  all  good 
Christian  knowledge.  If  Spaniards  came  among  them 
they  were  to  be  civilly  treated,  but  sent  away  after 
a  day  or  two,  and  no  one  was  to  be  allowed  to 
strike  an  Indian.  Their  watchword  was  to  be,  "Love 
one  another,  even  as  Christ  hath  loved  you." 

They  wonderfully  fulfilled  it.  Whatever  were  the 
errors  of  the  Jesuits  at  home,  their  work  among  the 
Indians  of  Paraguay  was  carried  out  in  the  spirit  of 
peace  and  love.  Many  villages  sprang  up,  which  made 
a  perfect  garden  of  the  country  round  the  Rivers 
Paraguay  and  Uruguay.  The  whole  community 
assembled  for  mass  in  the  church  in  the  morning, 
then  the  youths  were  taken  out  to  work  in  the  common 
fields,  and  the  children  sent  to  school.  The  men 
worked  in  their  gardens  at  home,  but  there  was  a 
public  store  of  crops  from  the  common  land,  whence 
the  sick  and  the  widows  were  maintained.  The  Jesuit 
Father  of  the  village  took  all  care  and  thought  on  him- 
self, and  the  gentle,  docile  people  lived  happily  under 
him,  almost  without  a  vice,  in  simple  obedience.  The 
only  fault  in  the  system  seems  to  have  been  that  it  did 
not  train  the  Indians  to  think  or  act  for  themselves, 
9 


1 3o 


Stories  of  American  History. 


but  kept  them  as  children  all  their  lives,  generation 
after  generation  dependent  on  a  foreign  order  of  priests. 
Yet  perhaps  this  was  because  few  Indians  were  capa- 
ble of  being  highly  trained,  there  being,  for  the  most 
part,  a  want  of  substance  in  their  character. 

The  Jesuits  were  highly  educated  men,  and  made 
many  discoveries  in  the  new  country,  which  was  most 
fertile  in  their  hands.  Maize  or  Indian  corn,  potatoes, 
cotton,  and  tobacco  were  already  cultivated  and  used 
in  America.  Turkeys  (called,  in  French,  dinde)  were 
first  found  in  Mexico ;  and  several  important  plants, 
for  use  or  medicine,  were  now  made  available,  in 
especial  caoutchouc,  or  Indian-rubber,  and  cinchona,  or 
quinine — the  great  remedy  for  ague  or  marsh-fever. 
This  last  was  long  known  as  Jesuit's  bark. 


CHAP.   XVIIL— ENGLISH    SAILORS   ON 
THE   SPANISH    MAIN. 

1584—1596. 

WHILE  Francis  Drake  was  on  his  voyage  round 
the  world,  another  Devonshire  man,  Sir 
Humphrey  Gilbert,  proposed  to  found  a  settlement  in 
Newfoundland,  whence  the  Spaniards  might  be  more 
effectually  harassed.  He  made  the  attempt  twice,  but, 
though  he  was  allowed  to  read  out  to  an  assemblage  of 
tradesmen  and  fishermen  the  royal  commission  giving 
him  possession  of  the  territory,  both  times  failed. 
Newfoundland  was  not  fit  for  a  set  of  men  entirely 
inexperienced  in  guarding  against  the  cold  and  hunger 
of  that  barren,  fog-bound  coast  and  terrible  climate,  and 
Gilbert  was  forced  to  sail  on  his  return,  in  1584,  with 
only  two  ships.  A  storm  overtook  them,  and  the  last 
the  other  ship  heard  of  him  was  his  voice  shouting 
through  the  tempest :  "  Do  not  fear;  God  is  as  near 
by  water  as  by  land  ! " 


132  Stories  of  American  History. 

The  scheme  was  taken  up  by  his  half-brother, 
Walter  Raleigh,  who  thought  that  it  was  useless  to 
settle  in  the  cold  north,  but  that  it  would  repay  the 
colonists  to  make  a  home  on  that  temperate  coast 
which  the  French  had  surveyed.  In  1584,  then,  he  sent 
out  a  party  to  the  land  bordering  on  Carolina — a  tract 
which  still  preserves  the  name  which  originated  with 
the  Huguenots.  Raleigh  named  his  grant  Virginia, 
in  honor  of  the  virgin  Queen,  Elizabeth.  Sir  Richard 
Grenville  took  out  one  hundred  and  eight  settlers, 
whom  he  landed  on  the  Island  of  Roanoke,  on  the 
coast  of  North  Carolina,  leaving  Sir  Ralph  Lane  as 
their  governor.  They  mapped  out  a  city  which  was  to 
be  called  Raleigh,  and  built  a  fort  and  some  dwellings. 
But,  instead  of  saving  grain  and  planting  fields,  these 
foolish  settlers  roamed  about  in  search  of  mines,  and 
quarreled  with  the  Indians.  In  consequence,  when, 
a  year  later,  Sir  Francis  Drake  touched  there  to  see 
how  they  were  getting  on,  he  found  them  nearly 
starved,  and  harassed  on  all  sides  by  the  Indians,  and, 
to  save  their  lives,  they  could  only  be  carried  home. 
A  few  days  after  their7  departure  a  ship  dispatched  by 
Raleigh  with  provisions  arrived,  but  had  only  to  take 
the  cargo  back  to  England.  And  yet  a  few  days  later 
Sir  Richard  Grenville  came  with  three  ships,  and,  find- 
ing the  island  deserted,  left  fifteen  men  to  garrison  the 


English  Sailors  on  the  Spanish  Main.       133 

fort,  and  sailed  away.  Lane  had  found  the  Indians  in 
the  habit  of  rolling  up  certain  leaves  and  smoking 
them.  He  brought  some  home  and  gave  them  to 
Raleigh,  and  this  was  the  first  introduction  of  tobacco 
into  England.  The  root  called  by  the  Indians  batah 
was  also  brought  home,  and  first  grown  on  Raleigh's 
estate  in  Ireland,  under  the  name  of  potato,  and  thus 
first  made  known  in  Europe. 

In  that  same  year,  1586,  Raleigh  sent  out  another 
party,  who  had  to  fight  their  way  with  the  Indians 
before  they  could  land.  The  new-comers  found  the 
fort  on  Roanoke  in  ruins,  and  nothing  of  the  gar- 
rison of  fifteen  men  but  their  bones.  Nevertheless, 
there  were  some  friendly  Indians,  one  of  whom  was 
christened  and  honored  with  the  title  of  Lord  of 
Roanoke.  The  governor  of  this  new  colony  was 
named  John  White.  With  him  came  out  his  daugh- 
ter and  her  husband,  a  gentleman  named  Dare.  In 
about  a  month  after  the  arrival  at  Roanoke  Mrs. 
Dare  bore  a  daughter,  who  was  christened  Virginia. 
Virginia  was  the  first  white  child  born  in  North 
America ;  but  her  fate  is  unknown,  for  while  her 
grandfather  went  home  to  England  for  supplies  the 
whole  colony  vanished.  They  were  probably  taken 
captive  by  the  Indians,  for  none  of  them  were  ever 
seen  again.  The  Island  of  Roanoke  is  now  almost 


134  Stories  of  American  History. 

uninhabited,  but  the  traces  of  the  fort  may  still  be 
found. 

By  this  time  there  was  open  war  between  England 
and  Spain,  and  the  bold  English  sailors  went  as  the 
Queen's  officers  instead  of  as  adventurers.  Moreover, 
the  whole  of  South  America  was  claimed  by  Spain,  for 
the  direct  line  of  kings  of  Portugal  had  failed,  and 
Philip  II  of  Spain  had  claimed  the  kingdom  and  all 
its  colonies,  in  right  of  his  mother,  a  Portuguese 
princess.  Brazil  was  therefore  in  his  hands,  and  his 
strength  and  dominion  seemed  immense,  but  the 
English  seamen  knew  better,  and  said  he  was  only  a 
Colossus  stuffed  with  clouts. 

In  1586  Sir  Francis  Drake  and  Martin  Frobisher, 
with  twenty-five  ships,  and  two  thousand  three 
hundred  men,  set  sail  for  the  West  Indies.  They 
touched  at  Dominica,  where  the  natives  were  as  yet 
undisturbed,  and  at  St.  Christopher's,  which  was 
uninhabited ;  and  then  they  fell  on  Hispaniola,  the 
oldest  settlement  of  all,  and  full  of  riches.  They 
seized  the  gates  of  San  Domingo,  got  into  the  citadel, 
and  called  on  the  Spaniards  to  ransom  their  city, 
declaring  that  they  would  every  day  hang  several 
prisoners,  and  burn  a  part  of  the  city,  till  the  governor 
came  to  terms.  At  last  ,£7,000  was  paid  them,  large 
stores  of  provisions  were  furnished,  and  they  sailed 


English  Sailors  on  the  Spanish  Main.       135 

away,  having  held  the  place  thirty  days.  They  had 
been  amused  by  finding  on  the  wall  of  the  palace  a 
painting  of  a  horse  leaping  off  the  globe,  with  the 
inscription  "  The  world  is  not  enough." 

Next,  in  like  manner,  they  fell  upon  Carthagena, 
on  the  mainland,  and  after  hard  fighting  gained  the 
harbor ;  and  did  what  they  called  "  scorching,"  as  at 
San  Domingo,  every  day,  till  they  obtained  a  still 
larger  ransom.  But  there  was  a  bad  fever  among 
them,  and  their  wounded  died  of  lock-jaw ;  so  they 
sailed  north,  into  a  more  temperate  climate,  to  see 
after  the  Virginian  settlement,  taking  the  ships  of  the 
Spaniards  by  the  way,  and  harrying  their  towns  in 
Florida.  They  found  the  party  at  Roanoke  in  a  sad 
state — as  noted  in  a  previous  chapter — by  their  own 
fault. 

Plunder  of  the  galleons  as  they  came  to  Spain,  and 
of  the  Spanish  settlements  on  the  coast,  was  thought 
the  most  honorable  mode  of  serving  the  Queen  and 
making  one's  own  fortune ;  and,  of  course,  the  Span- 
iards thought  of  the  English  pretty  much  as  the  old 
Saxons  thought  of  the  Danish  sea-kings,  as  mere  sea- 
robbers.  On  each  side  there  were  grievous  cruelties, 
for  Roman  Catholics  thought  the  English  heretics,  and 
worthy  to  be  hanged  or  burned,  and  the  English  were 
full  of  bitter,  savage  revenge. 


136  Stories  of  American  History. 

When  in  1580  the  King  of  Spain  claimed  the  crown 
of  Portugal  and  its  colonies,  there  was  some  resistance, 
but  eventually,  for  sixty  years,  all  the  Christian  portion 
of  South  America  acknowledged  fealty  to  the  crown 
of  Spain.  But  the  colonies  received  little  protection 
from  that  Government,  while  they  were  invaded  and 
attacked  by  its  enemies.  The  Portuguese  were  even 
raided  by  their  Spanish  neighbors,  to  reduce  them  to 
a  submission  for  which  they  could  hardly  understand 
the  reason.  The  Indians  in  Brazil  were  faithful  allies 
of  the  Portuguese  settlers;  and  in  1594  a  party  of 
Indians  armed  only  with  arrows,  and  led  by  a  Jesuit 
Father,  repelled  the  landing  of  a  Spanish  privateering 
expedition.  In  1592  they  cut  off  a  plundering  party 
of  twenty-five  men,  sent  inland  by  an  English  adven- 
turer, Thomas  Cavendish.  Four  years  later,  Sir  James 
Lancaster,  in  command  of  a  squadron  fitted  out  by  the 
London  merchants,  took  numerous  prizes  on  the  coast 
of  Brazil.  France  was  at  this  time  also  at  war  with 
Spain,  and  engaged  in  raiding  upon  the  Portuguese  as 
Spanish  colonies. 

Sir  James  Lancaster,  joined  by  five  French  priva- 
teers, descended  upon  Recife,  now  called  Pernambuco. 
He  took  possession  of  the  fort,  and  seized  all  the  treas- 
ure in  the  place.  The  Portuguese  colonists  made 
great  rafts,  set  them  on  fire,  and  sent  them  down  one 


English  Sailors  on  the  Spanish  Main.       137 

of  the  rivers  at  the  mouth  of  which  Pernambuco  stands, 
in  hopes  of  destroying  the  English  fleet.  But  Lan- 
caster's brave  men,  with  their  weapons  and  all  about 
them  wrapped  in  wet  clothes,  grappled  the  rafts  and 
sent  them  safely  out  to  sea.  At  last  the  eleven  vessels 
left  Pernambuco,  loaded  with  spoil  of  treasure,  timber, 
spices,  and  the  like,  which  was  fairly  shared  among 
them.  The  squadron  returned  home  without  disaster, 
Lancaster  giving  thanks  as  having  done  a  good  work 
under  Heaven's  blessing. 

Sir  John  Hawkins  and  Sir  Francis  Drake  had  also 
gone  on  a  plundering  expedition  to  the  islands,  with 
twenty-seven  ships,  though  Hawkins  was  then  seventy 
years  old.  They  did  much  harm  to  the  Spaniards  but 
without  gaining  much  themselves,  and  the  two  leaders 
grew  angry  and  quarreled.  After  some  hot  words  with 
Drake,  Hawkins  fell  ill  and  died  at  sea,  near  the  Island 
of  Porto  Rico  in  November,  1595.  Drake  attacked 
the  place,  was  repulsed,  sailed  away;  and,  after  plun- 
dering several  settlements,  went  to  Nombre  de  Dios, 
on  the  Isthmus  of  Darien,  whence  the  fleet  was  driven 
away  by  the  breaking  out  of  a  deadly  disease.  Drake 
was  among  the  victims,  and  died  just  as  his  fleet  an- 
chored at  Porto  Bello,  on  the  coast  of  New  Granada,  De- 
cember 27, 1595.  His  death  is  said  to  have  been  caused 
as  much  by  grief  and  disappointment  as  by  disease. 


CHAP.  XIX.- 


-THE    FIRST   NORTHERN 
COLONIES. 


1604 — 1618. 

CAjFTER  the  deaths  of  Drake  and  Hawkins  there 
-*-JL  were  no  more  great  plundering  expeditions. 
The  minds  of  the  Europeans  were,  however,  still  pos- 
sessed with  the  notion  of  a  great  golden  city,  which 
they  called  El  Dorado,  somewhere  in  the  interior  of 
South  America,  to  be  reached  from  the  river  Orinoco. 
Troughs  and  boxes  were  thought  to  be  made  of  gold 
there,  and  the  people  were  said  to  powder  themselves 
with  gold-dust.  Most  likely  these  notions  grew  from 
the  reports  which  the  natives  of  the  eastern  coast  made 
of  the  wealth  of  Peru.  Sir  Walter  Raleigh  believed  in 
them,  and  in  1595  made  an  attempt  to  find  his  way  to 
El  Dorado,  taking  the  Island  of  Trinidad  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Orinoco,  and  making  its  governor  prisoner.  He 
forced  his  way  up  the  river  as  far  as  he  could  in  boats, 
making  friends  with  the  Indians,  but  finding  nothing 


The  First  Northern  Colonies.  139 

but  dense  forests  full  of  wonderful  plants  and  birds, 
and  picking  up  specimens  of  ore.  He  had  seen  no 
golden  city,  but  he  still  believed  that  through  Guiana 
was  the  way  to  overflowing  wealth. 

Elizabeth  died  in  1603,  and  James  I,  who  succeeded 
her,  made  peace  with  the  Spaniards,  and  discontinued 
all  attacks  on  them.  English  sailors  did  not,  however, 
leave  off  their  robberies  of  Spanish  ships  and  settle- 
ments, and  there  were  men  from  other  nations  who 
joined  them.  The  French  Huguenots  had,  for  many 
years  past,  a  piratical  fleet  at  sea,  and  now  that  Henry 
IV  had  won  his  crown,  he  wished  much  to  favor  sea- 
manship, and  there  were  numerous  privateers  sailing 
under  the  French  flag.  The  Dutch,  who  had  revolted 
from  Philip  II  of  Spain,  and  furnished  some  of  the 
best  seamen  of  Europe,  were  resolved  on  wresting  from 
Spain  some  of  her  Western  riches.  The  Spaniards 
called  all  these  enemies  boucanieros,  from  bouc,  beef 
cut  in  strips,  and  smoked,  which  was  their  usual  food 
when  they  camped  on  shore.  As  these  buccaneers 
soon  came  to  consist  of  the  worst,  fiercest,  and  most 
cruel  men  of  all  nations,  they  were  a  horrible  scourge 
to  the  whole  Spanish  Main.  They  had  stations  for 
their  ships  at  the  Keys,  or  little  uninhabited  islands  in 
the  West  Indies,  where  they  kept  their  treasures,  and 
whence  they  went  out  to  seize  merchant-ships,  or  burn 


140  Stories  of  American  History. 

villages  on  the  land.  The  crews  of  their  prizes  were 
slain,  or  driven  overboard,  and  such  vessels  as  were  not 
needed  were  sunk. 

However,  James  I  was  permitting  more  peaceful 
and  reputable  settlements.  A  new  London  company 
and  a  Plymouth  company  wished  to  make  another  at- 
tempt at  North  America,  and  he  gave  them  a  charter, 
allowing  them  to  make  laws  and  appoint  officers. 
There  were  to  be  two  settlements  —  the  London  Com- 
pany had  Maine,  the  Plymouth  Company,  Virginia ; 
and  a  space  of  a  hundred  miles  was  to  be  kept  clear 
between  them  to  prevent  quarreling.  The  first  colo- 
nists in  Maine  soon  abandoned  the  settlement,  and  did 
little  more  than  give  the  name  which  the  district  has 
retained.  The  Virginian  colony  fared  better ;  and,  after 
a  period  of  suffering  and  dissension,  was  established 
securely  under  Sir  Thomas  Dale,  who  assumed  the  gov- 
ernment in  1611.  The  laws  were  very  severe,  being, 
in  fact,  a  code  of  martial  law ;  but  so  many  attempts  at 
settlement  had  failed  from  unruliness  and  improvidence, 
that  perhaps  severity  was  necessary.  So  a  man  was 
liable  to  death  if  he  killed  any  cattle,  even  his  own, 
without  leave  from  the  governor ;  a  baker  who  cheated 
had  his  ears  cut  off;  a  laundress  who  stole  linen  was 
flogged.  The  chief  settlement  of  Virginia  was  James- 
town ;  not  much  of  a  town,  for  the  houses  were  of 


The  First  Northern  Colonies. 


141 


rough  timber,  with  seats  of  trunks  of  trees,  and  the 
church  was  an  awning  stretched  between  the  trees,  with 
a  bar  of  wood  nailed  between  two  trees  for  a  pulpit. 


Pocahontas  saving  Captain  Smith. 

The  settlers  cleared  away  the  trees,  grew  maize  for 
themselves  and  tobacco  to  send  to  England,  and  were 
called  planters. 

The  famous  Captain  John  Smith  was  one  of  the 


142  Stories  of  American  History. 

settlers  in  Virginia.  His  was  a  life  of  adventure,  by 
land  and  sea.  He  had  served  as  a  soldier  of  fortune  in 
different  lands ;  and  as  a  maritime  discoverer  had  traced 
the  coast  of  North  America  up  to  Maine,  and  gave  the 
country  the  name  of  New  England.  His  services  were 
invaluable  to  the  colony  of  Virginia,  and  he  was  sent 
on  expeditions  for  forage  and  discovery  among  the 
Indians.  On  one  of  these  expeditions  he  was  made 
prisoner  by  the  Indian  chief  Powhatan,  and  doomed 
to  death.  He  was  placed  on  the  ground,  with  his 
head  on  a  stone,  but  just  as  an  Indian  raised  a  club 
to  dash  out  his  brains,  the  chiefs  young  daughter, 
Pocahontas,  threw  herself  between  Smith  and  the  ex- 
ecutioner, and  begged  for  his  life.  He  was  spared, 
and,  on  his  return  to  the  colony,  the  Indians  made 
friends  with  the  planters,  and  brought  them  skins  and 
maize  in  exchange  for  red  cloths  and  other  articles. 
Among  the  bearers  of  these  native  commodities  Poca- 
hontas frequently  came  with  her  basket.  These  visits 
resulted  in  her  baptism,  and  marriage  to  a  man  named 
John  Rolfe,  who  took  her  to  England.  There  the  red- 
skinned  woman  is  said  to  have  carried  herself  like  a 
princess.  After  being  the  fashion  for  a  time,  it  is  also 
said  that  she  met  with  many  troubles,  fell  into  great 
poverty,  and  died  at  the  early  age  of  twenty-one.  She 
bore  to  her  husband  one  son,  who  returned  to  Virginir, 


The  First  Northern  Colonies. 


143 


where    proud    families   trace   their  descent   from    the 
Indian  princess. 


Marriage  of  Pocahontas. 

The  English  claimed  the  Caribee,  or  Cannibal  Isles, 
which  the  slave-hunting  Spaniards  had  nearly  emptied 
of  people;  and  in  1608  the  Earl  of  Carlisle  obtained 
from  James  I  a  grant  of  the  Island  of  Barbadoes.  It 


144  Stories  of  American  History. 

had  been  discovered  by  the  Portuguese,  and  was  called 
the  island  of  the  Barbadoes,  or  bearded  natives,  but 
these  had  all  perished.  Barbadoes  was  the  first  English 
West  Indian  settlement. 

In  1617  Sir  Walter  Raleigh,  then  a  prisoner  in  the 
Tower,  persuaded  James  I  to  let  him  sail  to  Guiana 
the  second  time,  to  find  his  way  to  the  Golden  City,  or 
at  least  a  gold  mine.  He  had  twelve  ships,  and  his 
hopes  were  high.  He  was  welcomed  by  the  Indians, 
whom  he  had  made  friends  with  before,  but  he  was  an 
old  and  broken  man.  His  health  was  not  equal  to  the 
toil  of  exploring  these  unwholesome  rivers,  and  he  had 
to  send  a  party  forward  with  his  son.  However,  the 
Spaniards  had  formed  settlements  on  the  way  to  the 
supposed  gold  mines,  There  was-  peace  between 
England  and  Spain,  but  Raleigh  had  grown  up  when 
peace  at  home  meant  warfare  on  the  Spanish  Main. 
The  Spanish  town  of  St.  Thomas,  on  the  river  Orinoco, 
was  attacked  and  won  ;  but  Raleigh's  son  was  killed, 
and  the  party  had  soon  to  return  to  England.  James 
I,  angered  at  the  attack  on  the  Spaniards,  executed 
Raleigh ;  not  for  that,  but  on  the  former  charge  of 
treason,  under  which  he  was  in  prison  when  released 
to  make  this  unfortunate  expedition.  So  died  the  last 
of  Queen  Elizabeth's  great  seamen  and  foes  to  the 
Spaniard. 


The  First  Northern  Colonies.  145 

The  great  French  king,  Henry  IV,  was  bent  on 
forming  colonies  in  that  farther  north  which  Cartier 
had  surveyed.  It  is  said  that  the  Spaniards  had  looked 
at  the  place,  saw  no  gold  there,  and  said,  "  Aca  nada  " — 
"  Here  is  nothing  "-—whence  it  was  called  Canada.  But, 
as  Canada  is  an  Indian  word  for  a  great  plain,  this  is 
more  likely  to  be  the  meaning  of  the  name ;  and  the 
French  called  it  Acadie. 

Under  a  leader,  whose  name  still  appertains  to  Lake 
Champlain,  the  country  was  explored,  and  found  to  be 
very  fertile,  though  the  winters  were  far  colder  than  in 
the  same  latitudes  in  Europe.  Large  numbers  of 
French  came  out,  and  settled  on  both  banks  of  the 
river  St.  Lawrence.  The  city  of  Quebec  was  founded 
in  1608,  and  the  French  settlers  were  content  to  live 
as  farmers,  not  seeking  mines,  but  becoming  very  pros- 
perous. They  behaved  better  to  the  Indians  than  did 
either  the  Spaniards  or  the  English.  The  clergy  who 
came  out  with  them  made  many  converts,  since  the 
Red  Indians  had  little  actual  misbelief,  and  were  ready 
to  hear  more  about  the  "  Great  Spirit "  from  the 
"  Black  Robes,"  as  they  called  the  French  priests  and 
friars. 

The  Dutch  were  making  their  attempts  likewise. 
In  1609  they  hired  a  gallant  English  sailor,  named 
Henry  Hudson,  who  had  already  made  two  voyages  to 


10 


Stories  of  American  History. 


try  to  find  the  northwest  passage.  He  tried  again, 
and  went  surveying  and  touching  here  and  there,  from 
Greenland  to  Virginia.  Thence  turning  northward, 
he  put  in  at  the  mouth  of  that  beautiful  wide  river 


Henry  Hudson  ascending  the  Hudson  River. 

which  still  bears  his  name,  and  was  delighted,  as  well 
he  might  be,  with  its  lovely  shores  and  the  friendly 
Indians  who  came  in  bark  canoes,  and  exchanged 
grapes,  pumpkins,  and  furs  for  knives  and  beads. 
When  the  river  became  too  shallow  for  his  ship  he 
sent  a  boat  on  a  little  farther,  and  then  turned  back, 
having  named  Staten  Island  after  the  states  of  Hol- 
land. His  next  voyage  was  again  in  search  of  the 
northwest  passage.  He  entered  the  great  watery 


The  First  Northern  Colonies.  147 

opening  now  called  Hudson's  Bay,  but  his  men, 
frightened  and  angry,  rose  against  him,  put  him  in  a 
boat,  tied  hand  and  foot,  with  his  son  and  one  or  two 
more,  and  left  him  to  perish  in  the  ice. 

After  this  another  Dutch  expedition  under  Adrian 
Blok,  or  Block,  in  1614,  explored  both  the  Hudson 
and  the  Connecticut  Rivers.  He  passed  through 
Long  Island  Sound,  and  gave  the  name  to  Block 
Island.  He  lost  his  ships,  and  spent  the  winter  on 
Manhattan  Island,  where  the  city  of  New  York  now 
stands.  There  he  built  a  vessel,  which  he  named  the 
Unrest.  Manhattan  Island  was  bought  of  the  Indians 
by  the  Dutch  for  beads  worth  £24  (about  $120),  and  a 
settlement  was  begun  called  New  Amsterdam.  Tracts 
were  taken  up  in- the  interior  by  men  called  Patroons, 
or  patrons,  a  title  conveying  baronial  dignity.  They 
came  out  each  with  fifty  colonists,  with  leave  to  buy 
sixteen  miles  of  land  from  the  Indians,  and  to  import 
Negroes  from  Guinea  to  work  for  them.  Slaves  had 
also  begun  to  be  used  in  Virginia  to  attend  to  the 
tobacco  plantations,  which  the  colonists  would  keep  to 
a  great  extent;  though  wise  men  warned  them  that 
they  would  wear  out  the  soil. 

The  Dutch  cared  more  for  the  East  than  the  West 
Indies.  It  was  in  trying  to  find  the  southwestern 
passage  without  passing  through  the  Magellan  Straits, 


148  Stories  of  American  History. 

that,  in  1615,  Captain  Schouten,  of  the  Dutch  city  of 
Hoorn,  passed  outside  of  the  island  group  of  Terra 
del  Fuego,  and  named  another  Staten  Island.  The 
Hoorn  was  wrecked,  but  she  left  her  name  to  the 
southernmost  point  of  the  southernmost  island.  Her 
captain  was  considered  a  buccaneer,  because  he  had 
disobeyed  the  Dutch  East  Indian  Company,  and  his 
remaining  ship  was  taken  from  him  and  forfeited  when 
he  arrived  at  the  Dutch  settlements  in  India.  Five 
nations  now  had  settlements  in  America — Spain,  Port- 
ugal, England,  France,  and  Holland. 


CHAP.   XX.—  THE    PILGRIM    FATHERS. 


1620  —  1637. 

JAMES  I  was  resolved  that  in  England 
strong  Church  principles  should  be  carried  out, 
and  that  religious  services  should  closely  keep  to  the 
Prayer  Book,  and  that  every  one  should  attend  them. 
There  were  fines  and  punishments  for  those  who 
refused.  Now,  ever  since  the  Reformation  there  had 
been  persons  who  wanted  to  do  away  with  all  forms 
that  they  fancied  were  like  those  of  the  Roman  Catho- 
lics ;  and  rather  than  conform  to  the  Prayer-Book  rules 
they  fled  to  Holland.  When  these  fugitives  numbered 
about  one  thousand  they  resolved,  instead  of  living  as 
exiles  among  foreigners,  to  go  out  to  the  New  World, 
and  make  a  home  there.  They  sent  to  the  king  to 
beg  for  a  charter  by  which  to  govern  themselves,  and 
for  a  grant  of  land.  James  would  not  give  them  a 
charter,  but  he  said  they  might  have  the  land  if  they 
behaved  well  and  molested  no  one  else. 


Stories  of  American  History. 


So  in  1620  one  hundred  and  twenty  were  told  off  to 
go  and  prepare  the  way.  They  sailed  from  Delft  in 
two  ships,  the  Mayflower  and  the  Speedwell,  touching 
at  the  old  English  Plymouth  ;  but  the  last-named 
vessel  proved  un seaworthy,  and  only  the  Mayflower 


Landing  of  the  Pilgrim  Fathers. 

made  the  voyage  with  about  one  hundred  passengers, 
among  whom  Miles  Standish  was  the  most  noted.   They 


The  Pilgrim  Fathers.  151 

meant  to  have  gone  to  the  beautiful  Hudson  River, 
but,  missing  that,  they  came  to  a  harbor  which  they 
named  Plymouth,  after  the  port  they  had  last  left. 
The  day  of  their  landing  was  the  22d  of  December, 
and  a  young  girl,  named  Mary  Chilton,  was  the  first 
to  step  on  the  new  land.  Then  they  built  one  great 
log-house,  where  all  might  sleep,  and  divided  it  in 
partitions  for  the  nineteen  families.  A  shed  was  built 
for  a  store-house,  and  another  house  for  the  sick. 
They  built  a  fort  with  a  flat  roof  and  battlements,  on 
which  four  cannon  were  mounted.  It  served  also  for 
a  "  meeting-house,"  and  was  fitted  accordingly  for 
religious  worship.  William  Brewster  was  their  Elder  ; 
and  as  no  clergyman  came  out  with  the  first  colonists 
for  several  years  he  consented  to  preach,  but  never 
administered  the  sacraments.  They  sowed  corn,  but, 
till  it  grew,  they  had  to  live  by  hunting  and  fishing, 
obtaining  deer,  turkeys,  eels,  lobsters,  and  shell-fish  ;  and 
often  they  suffered  grievously  from  hunger,  for  cattle 
and  farm  stock  were  not  imported  into  the  colony  till 
four  years  later.  Half  of  the  colony  died  during  the 
winter.  The  graves  were  leveled  with  the  ground,  and 
in  the  spring  sown  with  quick-growing  grass,  lest  the  In- 
dians should  see  how  many  were  lost.  The  Mayflower 
returned  the  next  year,  bringing  supplies  and  more 
settlers,  and  they  began  to  get  their  heads  above  water. 


152  Stories  of  American  History. 

Scattered  settlements  were  made  at  different  points 
in  the  district  bearing  the  Indian  name  of  Massachu- 
setts, or  "  Blue  Hills."  Among  the  most  important  of 
these  was  the  settlement  at  Naumkeag,  made  by  Cap- 
tain John  Endicott  in  1628.  He  acted  in  the  interest 
of  certain  gentlemen  in  England,  who  were  organizing 
a  company.  Prior  settlers  objected  at  first  to  the  as- 
sumption of  government  by  Endicott,  but  the  reconcili- 
ation of  the  difficulty,  which  was  "  quietly  composed," 
induced  these  Bible-studying  Puritans  to  call  their  set- 
tlement Salem,  the  "  city  of  peace."  In  1629  a  char- 
ter was  granted  by  Charles  I  to  "  The  Governor  and 
Company  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay  in  New  England." 
In  June  of  that  year  the  Mayflower  was  again  on  the 
coast,  with  four  vessels  more,  bringing  to  Salem  colo- 
nists sent  out  by  "  The  Governor  and  Company." 
Seventeen  vessels  sent  out  by  this  company  landed 
fifteen  hundred  persons  in  the  colony.  They  sailed  at 
different  times,  and  all  arrived  safely  at  Salem  and 
Charlestown  in  the  year  1630. 

Boston,  so  named  from  Boston  in  Lincolnshire, 
became  the  capital.  These  colonists  were  Puritans 
like  those  at  Plymouth,  but  they  came  direct  from 
England  and  not  from  Holland.  Their  governor  was 
John  Winthrop,  and  very  strict  and  stern  were  the 
laws,  both  in  Plymouth  and  Massachusetts.  The 


The  Pilgrim  Fathers. 


153 


strictest  possible  rules  were  applied,  and  every  effort  was 
made  to  enforce  them.     Tradition  exaggerates  the  se- 


verity of  these 
rules,  but  the  fol- 
lowing are  speci- 
mens :  People  who  staid  away 
from  public  worship  were 
fined,  and  if  they  remained 
away  for  a  month  together 
were  put  in  the  stocks,  or  in 


Pilgiims  marching  to 
Meeting. 


154  Stories  of  American  History. 

a  wooden  cage.  Light,  foolish  conduct  was  punished 
by  the  sentence  to  stand  upon  a  stool  in  "  meeting " 
with  a  label  pinned  about  the  neck.  A  scolding  wo- 
man's tongue  was  fixed  in  a  cleft  stick,  or  else  she  was 
ducked.  Worse  crimes  were  met  by  whipping  or  the 
pillory,  and  many  by  death.  It  was  needful,  above  all, 
to  be  watchful  and  vigilant,  for  the  Indians  could  not 
but  look  with  dread  and  suspicion  on  the  white  men 
who  came  to  spoil  their  hunting-grounds.  They  were 
ready  to  fall  on  the  intruders  on  any  provocation. 

The  settlement  in  Virginia  felt  this  when  their 
friend  Powhatan  died  in  1618.  All  through  his  time 
the  Indians  had  come  and  gone  freely  among  the  colo- 
nists, selling  and  buying,  and  the  English  clergymen 
who  had  come  out  had  many  plans  for  teaching  and 
converting  the  Indian  children.  But  in  1622  a  planter 
quarreled  with  a  chief  and  was  killed.  His  servants 
avenged  his  death  by  killing  the  Indian,  and  the  tribe 
resolved  on  vengeance.  The  whole  of  the  colonists, 
between  two  and  three  thousand  in  number,  were  to 
have  been  slain  by  the  Indians  in  one  night ;  but 
happily  one  man  who  had  been  converted  gave  warn- 
ing,  and  there  was  time  to  arm  and  prepare.  As  many 
as  two  hundred  and  fifty  English  were  killed,  but 
the  others  were  saved,  though  for  a  long  time  they  had 
to  keep  a  most  anxious  watch,  and  the  outlying  farms 


The  Pilgrim  Fathers.  155 

had  to  be  given  up.  In  1625,  just  before  his  death, 
King  James  called  in  the  charter,  and  took  Virginia 
under  his  own  government.  The  settlements  were 
spreading  very  fast.  King  Charles  made  many  grants 
to  persons  as  governors.  Lord  Baltimore  was  one  of 
these.  He  settled  the  country  on  the  Chesapeake  Bay, 
northeast  of  Virginia,  and  named  it  Maryland,  after 
Queen  Henrietta  Maria,  who  was  usually  called  Mary 
in  England.  He  was  a  Roman  Catholic,  and  seems 
to  have  intended  Maryland  for  a  refuge  for  English 
Roman  Catholics,  as  Plymouth  and  Massachusetts  Bay 
were  for  Puritans.  But  toleration  and  equality  were 
secured  in  Maryland  for  all  Christians.  Maine  was 
granted  to  Sir  Ferdinand  Gorges,  and  is  said  to  have 
been  named  after  the  queen's  French  duchy.  A 
small  Swedish  settlement  was  begun  on  the  Dela- 
ware. 

There  came  to  Massachusetts  in  1631  a  young 
Welsh  dissenting  minister,  named  Roger  Williams. 
He  thought  the  strict  laws  regulating  doctrine  and 
worship  too  narrow,  and  that  law  should  only  deal 
with  crimes,  not  with  opinion.  These  views  were 
deemed  very  dangerous,  and  Williams  was  several 
times  cited  to  appear  before  the  magistrates;  and  at 
last  the  General  Court  or  Legislature  of  the  colony  of 
Massachusetts  pronounced  against  him  the  sentence  of 


156  Stories  of  American  History. 

exile  for  teaching  doctrines  which  tendered  "  to  sub- 
vert the  fundamental  state  and  government."  It  was 
resolved  to  send  him  to  England  in  a  ship  then  just 
ready  to  sail.  But  he  made  his  escape,  and  in  Janu- 
ary, 1636,  fled  on  foot  from  his  house  in  Salem,  and 
for  fourteen  weeks  wandered  in  the  forests  before  he 
reached  the  Plymouth  Colony.  There  he  got  together 
a  few  friends,  and  was  about  to  make  a  settlement. 
But  Governor  Winthrop,  of  Massachusetts,  who 
thought  him  ill-treated,  sent  him  help,  and  wrote  to 
him,  advising  him  to  make  a  new  home  on  Narragan- 
sett  Bay,  outside  the  claims  of  other  colonies.  He  em- 
barked with  five  companions  in  a  canoe  in  June,  1636, 
dropped  down  the  Blackstone  River,  and  landed  at  the 
head  of  Narragansett  Bay,  where  he  founded  the  city 
called  Providence.  He  obtained  from  Canonicus  and 
Miantonomoh,  Narragansett  chiefs,  a  large  grant  of 
land  with  the  islands  in  the  bay,  the  largest  of  which  he 
called  Rhode  Island,  and  named  his  settlement  Rhode 
Island  and  Providence  Plantation.  He  made  his  col- 
ony a  refuge  for  all  those  whose  opinions  had  caused 
them  to  be  exiled.  It  used  to  be  said  that  whoever 
had  lost  his  religion  would  find  it  in  some  village  in 
Rhode  Island.  He  was  a  generous  man,  and  when  he 
found  that  a  warlike  tribe  of  Indians,  called  Pequods, 
were  trying  to  persuade  his  friends  the  Narragansetts 


The  Pilgrim  Fathers.  157 

to  unite  with  them  in  falling  upon  the  Massachusetts 
settlers,  he  went  to  the  chiefs  at  the  peril  of  his  life,  and 
persuaded  them  to  let  the  Pequods  stand  alone.  Both 
Narragan setts  and  Mohicans,  the  two  chief  Indian 

o 

tribes,  became  allies  of  England,  but  the  Pequods  re- 
mained at  enmity,  burning  homesteads  and  torturing 
travelers.  The  settlement  of  Connecticut  had  been 
commenced,  and  the  men  of  that  colony,  in  1637, 
united  with  Massachusetts,  made  war  upon  the  Pe- 
quods, and  burned  their  fort  in  a  night  attack,  with  six 
hundred  people  in  it.  The  whole  tribe  were  hunted 
down  like  wild  beasts  till  most  were  slain — women, 
children,  and  all.  Their  country  was  laid  waste,  and 
the  few  survivors  were  made  slaves. 


CHAP.   XXL— MISSIONARIES    IN    NORTH 
AMERICA. 

1626 — 1655. 

'pHERE  was  some  endeavor  at  converting  the 
Indians.  It  had  begun  in  Acadie,  the  French 
settlement.  In  1626  three  Jesuit  Fathers  went  to 
Quebec,  intending  to  carry  the  faith  to  the  Huron 
Indians.  There  was,  however,  war  between  England 
and  France,  and  therefore  between  their  colonies. 
Only  two  years  after  the  Jesuits  had  come  out,  Quebec 
was  taken  by  the  English  under  Sir  David  Kirk,  and 
the  French  Governor-General,  Champlain,  and  all  the 
French  inhabitants,  were  sent  home. 

After  peace  was  made  in  1632,  Quebec  was  restored 
to  the  French,  and  two  priests,  called  Le  Jeune  and 
La  Moue,  came  back,  and,  going  to  a  hovel  in  the 
woods,  set  themselves  to  learn  the  language  of  the 
Algonquin  Indians.  The  cold  in  the  winter  was 
frightful,  the  rivers  were  frozen  over,  and  water  froze 


Missionaries  in  North  America.  159 

at  night  close  before  the  fire.  These  patient  priests 
not  only  endured  all  this,  but  went  about  in  Indian 
camps,  amid  all  the  filth,  the  noise,  the  smoke,  the  dogs, 
and  the  savagery,  learning  the  Indians'  ways  of  think- 
ing and  trying  to  win  them  over  to  listen  to  Christian 
teaching. 

Five  more  clergy  then  came  out,  and  three  of  them, 
of  whom  Jean  de  Brebeuf  was  the  chief,  went  out  on 
a  mission  to  the  Hurons,  who  had  come  in  their  canoes 
to  confer  with  Champlain,  at  Quebec.  The  French 
governor  committed  the  Fathers  to  the  chief,  and  bade 
him  take  care  of  them.  At  first  they  found  that  the 
Indians  resorted  to  them  only  as  healers  of  the  sick 
and  owners  of  strange  and  wonderful  things,  such  as  a 
watch  and  a  compass  ;  but  gradually  the  nobler  spirits 
were  gained  one  by  one,  and  large  numbers  came  in 
after  them.  The  Jesuits  did  not  attempt  too  much 
civilization,  or  try  to  make  these  wild  men  live  like 
Europeans ;  but  they  only  received  such  converts  as 
would  give  up  scalp-hunting,  murder,  and  cannibalism, 
and  would  content  themselves  with  only  one  wife.  No 
one,  who  had  not  some  real  knowledge  of  the  faith, 
except  little  children,  was  baptized.  One  favorite  re- 
sort for  baptism  was  the  lovely  little  lake  called  by  the 
Indians  Horicon,  by  the  missionaries  St.  Sacrament, 
and  now  known  as  Lake  George. 


160  Stories  of  American  History. 

Father  Brebeuf  translated  into  the  Huron  language 
a  catechism  for  the  converts.  About  this  time  arose  a 
Protestant  missionary,  John  Eliot,  who  came  out  from 
England  in  1631,  and  became  minister  of  the  church 
in  Roxbury,  near  Boston,  in  the  following  year.  About 
thirty  years  old  at  the  time  of  his  arrival,  he  lived  to 
fourscore-and-seven.  Very  soon  after  his  settlement 
in  Roxbury,  he  conceived  a  strong  passion  for  Chris- 
tianizing the  Indians.  The  venerable  Dr.  Cotton 
Mather,  his  junior  and  survivor,  says  of  him :  "  The 
remarkable  zeal  of  the  Romish  missionaries,  compass- 
ing sea  and  land  that  they  might  make  proselytes, 
made  his  devout  soul  think  of  it  with  a  further  disdain 
that  we  should  come  any  whit  behind  in  our  care  to 
evangelize  the  Indians."  The  Pequod  war,  or  mas- 
sacre (1637),  in  which  "  a  nation  disappeared  from  the 
family  of  man,"  strengthened  his  purpose  and  quickened 
his  zeal.  Nearly  fifty  years  of  his  life  were  given  to 
this  good  work.  In  New  England  he  is  spoken  of  to 
this  day  as  the  "Apostle  to  the  Indians."  Edward 
Everett,  the  New  England  scholar,  statesman,  and 
orator,  thus  speaks  of  him  :  "  The  Apostle — and  truly  I 
know  not  who,  since  Peter  and  Paul,  better  deserves 
that  name." 

Father  Brebeuf,  as  noted  above,  translated  a  cate- 
chism for  his  converts.  The  Apostle  Eliot  translated, 


Missionaries  in  North  America.  161 

first,  the  Ten  Commandments  and  a  selection  of  texts  ; 
next,  the  New  Testament,  published  in  1661  ;  then,  in 
1663,  a  grammar  of  the  language  of  the  Massachusetts 
Indians,  and  a  translation  of  the  whole  Bible.  The 
Indian  title  of  the  book  may  serve  for  an  exercise  in 
pronunciation.  It  is  "  Mamusse  Wunneetupamatamwe 
Up-Biblum  God  Naneeswe  Nuk  kone  Testament  kah 
wonk  Wusku  Testament."  A  new  edition  was  pub- 
lished in  Boston  in  1822,  with  notes  and  an  introduc- 
tion by  two  eminent  American  experts  in  the  Indian 
languages,  Du  Ponceau  and  Dr.  J.  Pickering.  Eliot's 
Bible  was  originally  published  at  Cambridge,  Massa- 
chusetts. He  translated  also  Baxter's  "  Serious  Call," 
and  several  other  devotional  works,  and  a  catechism ; 
and  he  made  an  Indian  metrical  version  of  the  Psalms. 
Most  curious  of  all,  he  wrote  "  The  Logic  Primer  for 
the  Use  of  Indians."  The  use  of  this  is,  however, 
apparent  when  we  read  that  to  Harvard  College,  in 
Cambridge,  founded  in  1636,  there  was  annexed  a 
building  sufficient  to  accommodate  twenty  Indian 
students.  Several  schools  were  established  at  different 
points,  and  the  Indian  college  was  designed  for  the 
education  of  Indian  preachers.  There  were  at  one 
time  four-and-twenty  Indian  ministers  of  the  gospel, 
besides  several  white  missionaries,  in  Massachusetts, 

who  preached  in  the  Indian  tongue, 
ii 


1 62  Stories  of  American  History. 

Eliot  fully  believed  that  the  devil  was  the  red-man's 
master,  and  the  "  Great  Spirit "  that  they  worshiped. 
To  prepare  himself  for  their  conversion,  he  spent 
nearly  fourteen  years  before  he  ventured  in  1646  to 
preach  to  the  Narragansetts  the  first  sermon  to  them 
in  their  own  tongue.  The  number  of  towns  of  "  pray- 
ing Indians"  grew  up,  by  the  year  1674,  to  fourteen, 
and  over  these  Eliot  seems  to  have  presided,  in  a  way, 
as  bishop,  without  the  title.  The  principal  Indian 
town  was  Natick,  on  the  Charles  River,  which  Eliot 
tried  to  rule  by  a  constitution  as  like  that  of  the 
Israelites  under  Moses  as  he  could  make  it,  and  where 
he  was  gradually  taming  and  civilizing  the  natives, 
and  making  them  good  men.  He  received  some  small 
aid  from  England,  had  influential  supporters  in  the 
colony,  and  the  sympathy  of  the  best  of  the  settlers 
was  with  him.  But  the  Indian  chiefs,  with  few  excep- 
tions, and  their  "  medicine-men  "  or  priests,  were  his 
determined  enemies,  and  only  their  fear  of  the  English 
preserved  his  life.  As  to  the  converts  themselves,  they 
were  under  a  ban.  The  Indians  drove  out  from 
their  society  all  who  favored  Christianity,  and  put 
them  to  death  when  it  could  be  done  secretly  or  safely. 
But  for  the  dread  of  their  protectors,  the  English, 
all  the  converts  would  have  been  murdered.  The 
colonists  could  not  but  live  in  dread  of  such  trouble- 


Missionaries  in  North  America.  163 

some  neighbors,  and,  if  to  some  of  them  a  "  praying 
Indian"  was  only  an  Indian  after  all,  it  is  not  to  be 
wondered  at.  What  further  became  of  the  Apostle 
Eliot's  efforts  will  be  noted  in  a  future  chapter.  We 
have  anticipated  events  somewhat,  in  order  to  give  a 
concise  view  of  his  labors  and  his  character.  And  it 
may  be  proper  here  to  remark  that  English-speaking 
people  have  not  relaxed  their  efforts — subject  of  course 
to  unhappy  interruptions — to  Christianize  the  Indians. 
Christians  of  all  names  are  at  work  among  those  who 
remain,  both  in  the  British  dominion  and  in  the  United 
States.  As  we  have  spoken  of  translations,  it  is  due 
to  the  chief,  Brant  of  the  Mohawks,  who  figured  in  the 
last  century,  to  say  that  he  translated  the  Book  of 
Common  Prayer  and  St.  Mark's  Gospel  into  his  native 
language.  The  mission  and  Bible  presses  of  to-day 
issue  Bibles  and  religious  publications  in  the  Indian 
languages,  and  there  is  at  least  one  missionary  paper 
published  in  English  and  Indian  at  one  of  the  Western 
missionary  stations. 

Alas !  Dutch  emulation  of  the  Jesuits  took  a  differ- 
ent form  from  that  of  the  Apostle  Eliot.  Under  Philip 
II  of  Spain,  Holland  had  been  so  cruelly  treated  by  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church  that  her  sons  revenged  them- 
selves on  priests  and  Spaniards  wherever  they  found 
them,  even  if  engaged  in  the  most  pious  and  innocent 


164  Stories  of  American  History. 

work.  At  the  Dutch  settlements  on  the  Hudson  River 
fire-arms  were  freely  furnished  to  the  Iroquois,  a  fierce 
and  warlike  tribe,  who  bitterly  hated  the  Hurons  and 
Algonquiris,  the  Indian  allies  or  subjects  of  the 
Catholic  French.  The  Iroquois  roamed  about  the 
banks  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  and  seized  a  large  party 
of  Christian  Indians,  with  two  French  priests.  The 
tortures  they  made  them  suffer  were  beyond  all  meas- 
ure, and  can  not  be  dwelt  upon.  One  priest,  Goupil, 
was  killed.  The  other,  Isaac  Jogues  by  name,  escaped, 
though  one  mass  of  scars,  his  fingers  gnawed  off  by 
dogs  and  men,  and  his  left  thumb  sawn  off  with  a  clam- 
shell. He  came  back  at  last  to  France,  and  the 
Queen,  Anne  of  Austria,  kissed  these  hands  with 
deep  reverence.  The  Iroquois  had  sworn  to  root  out 
the  nation  of  the  Hurons.  No  Frenchman  was  safe 
outside  the  walls  of  Quebec  and  the  towns  of  Montreal 
and  Three  Rivers.  Yet  Isaac  Jogues  went  back  again 
to  his  post,  and  there  he  was  taken  again  by  the  Iro- 
quois ;  and,  after  having  strips  of  flesh  cut  from  his  arms 
and  back,  was  murdered  at  last  with  a  hatchet  by  an 
Indian  who,  two  years  later,  came  and  begged  for  bap- 
tism. The  whole  Huron  country  was  devastated,  and 
the  Christians  were  hunted  down,  shot,  or  burned. 
Those  taken  were  tortured  in  the  most  frightful  ways, 
especially  all  the  "  Black  Robes."  Father  Brebeuf 


Missionaries  in  North  America.  165 

was  tied  to  a  stake,  with  a  necklace  of  red-hot  axes 
hung  on  his  shoulders.  Lamenant  was  surrounded 
with  a  girdle  of  pitch-smeared  bark,  and  set  fire  to. 
Boiling  water  was  slowly  dropped  on  their  heads,  strips 
of  flesh  were  cut  off  their  limbs  and  eaten  before  their 
eyes,  but  they  never  flinched.  When  Bre"beufs  breast 
was  finally  torn  open,  the  chiefs  flocked  to  drink  the 
blood  of  so  valiant  an  enemy,  thinking  it  would  inspire 
them  with  courage.  The  remnants  of  the  tribe,  eight 
thousand  in  number,  with  a  few  chiefs,  took  refuge  on 
Great  Manitoulin  Isle,  in  Lake  Huron.  There  they 
were  safe  from  all  but  starvation  in  the  summer,  but 
they  were  horribly  attacked  as  soon  as  the  winter  set 
in.  They  were  able  to  keep  the  island,  but  were  shot 
down  if  they  hunted  in  the  woods  on  the  mainland,  or 
fished  in  the  lake.  Hunger  and  sickness  destroyed 
those  who  were  not  slain,  and  at  last  only  three  hun- 
dred Hurons  were  left  alive,  when,  with  their  French 
clergy,  they  escaped  to  Quebec. 

Then  came  the  times  of  the  Commonwealth  in 
England.  A  good  many  of  the  cavaliers  or  royal  party 
took  refuge  in  Virginia,  where  they  built  stately  manor- 
houses,  and  brick  churches,  in  the  taste  of  the  seven- 
teenth century. 

During  the  war  which  Charles  I  maintained  against 
the  Parliamentary  forces,  he  commissioned  his  nephew, 


1 66  Stories  of  American  History. 

. L 

Prince  Rupert,  to  command  a  regiment  of  horse. 
Prince  Rupert,  brilliant  in  attack,  was  deficient  in  steadi- 
ness and  in  discretion.  He  surrendered  the  city  of 
Bristol  to  the  Parliamentary  forces,  and  was  dismissed. 
He  was  recalled  in  1648,  and  given  command  of  the 
royal  fleet.  With  such  of  the  squadron  as  adhered  to 
the  royal  cause,  and  with  some  of  the  cavaliers  who  had 
served  with  him  on  land,  he  kept  afloat  until  1651, 
nearly  two  years  after  the  death  of  Charles  I.  In  that 
year  the  Parliamentary  admiral,  the  famous  Blake,  de- 
feated him,  destroying  most  of  his  ships.  With  the 
few  that  remained  he  made  his  escape  to  the  West 
Indies,  where,  with  his  brother  Maurice,  he  led  the  life 
of  a  buccaneer.  Prince  Maurice  was  drowned  in  a 
storm  off  the  Caribee  Islands.  Prince  Rupert  eluded 
the  ships  sent  to  capture  him  by  Cromwell,  and  took 
refuge  in  France. 

Fleets  were  dispatched  by  the  Parliament,  both  for 
the  repression  of  Prince  Rupert,  and  to  secure  the 
allegiance  of  the  American  colonies.  This  was  effected 
with  little  difficulty,  Virginia  submitting  with  the  rest. 
Oliver  Cromwell,  though  not  formally  at  war  with 
Spain,  resolved  to  send  out  a  fleet  to  put  an  end  to 
the  Spanish  claim  to  a  sole  right  in  the  W'est.  Ad- 
miral Penn  and  General  Venables,  with  about  ten 
thousand  men,  attacked  Hispaniola,  but  were  driven  off. 


Missionaries  in  North  America.  167 

However,  in  May,  1666,  they  took  Jamaica  which  has 
remained  an  English  island  ever  since,  though  the  first 
English  colonists  had  to  live  a  life  of  hard  fighting  to 
keep  off  the  Spaniards.  The  Negro  slaves  of  the  ex- 
pelled Spaniards  got  into  the  hills,  and  lived  a  wild 
outlaw  life.  They  were  called  Maroons,  and  were  much 
dreaded  for  many  generations.  Port  Royal,  the  capital 
of  Jamaica,  was  the  favorite  harbor  of  the  buccaneers, 
who  used  to  put  in  there  to  sell  their  prizes,  and  spend 
in  riot  their  ill-gotten  wealth. 

Under  Cromwell,  magistrates  in  Ireland  and  Scot- 
land were  directed  to  seize  all  idle  and  disaffected  per- 
sons they  could  lay  hands  on,  and  ship  them  off  for 
Jamaica.  Before  the  taking  of  Jamaica,  thousands  of 
prisoners  of  war  had  been  sent  as  slaves  to  the  island 
colonies ;  and  it  is  stated  that  no  less  than  seven  thou- 
sand Scotch  prisoners,  after  the  battle  of  Worcester,  in 
which  Charles  1 1  was  defeated,  were  sent  to  Barbadoes. 
That  island  was  wonderfully  rich  and  prosperous,  and 
was  sometimes  called  Little  England. 


CHAP.   XXIL— THE   SPREAD   OF   FRENCH 

POWER. 

1635—1675. 

>T^HE  seventeenth  century  was  the  period  of  the 
power  and  prosperity  of  France ;  first  under 
Cardinal  Richelieu,  the  minister  of  Louis  XIII,  then 
under  Colbert,  the  minister  of  Louis  XIV.  Though 
Roman  Catholic,  the  French  heeded  the  Pope's  grant 
of  the  West  to  Spain  no  more  than  did  the  English  and 
Dutch.  They  made  a  settlement  in  Hispaniola  itself, 
and  granted  the  Isle  of  St.  Christopher's,  with  three 
lesser  ones,  to  the  Knights  of  Malta.  De  Poincy,  one 
of  these  knights,  ruled  well  and  wisely  at  Basse  Terre, 
in  St.  Christopher's,  for  twenty-one  years,  sitting  under 
a  great  fig-tree  to  administer  justice,  once  a  week. 
There  were  three  other  French  groups  of  islets,  the 
chief  of  each  cluster  being  Guadaloupe,  Martinique, 
and  Grenada.  The  great  value  of  the  Antilles  for 
growing  sugar  was  beginning  to  be  discovered.  The 


The  Spread  of  French  Power.  169 

Moors  in  Spain  had  grown  the  cane,  and  the  Venetians 
had  brought  it  from  the  East.  But  it  was  the  Portu- 
guese who  first  began  to  cultivate  it  in  Brazil,  where 
it  flourished  so  much  that  the  Dutch  made  an  attack 
on  that  country,  and  gained  Pernambuco  and  half  the 
coast,  in  1624.  They  held  these  lands  forty  years,  and 
would  have  kept  them  longer,  but  for  the  parsimony  of 
the  merchants,  who  would  not  keep  up  a  proper  army, 
and  vexed  the  people  with  their  exactions. 

The  sugar-cane  was  soon  introduced  into  the 
islands,  and  it  flourished,  especially  in  Barbadoes ;  but 
the  English  planters  only  used  the  juice  to  make  a 
refreshing  drink,  until  a  Dutchman,  coming  from  Brazil, 
taught  them  to  make  sugar.  At  the  same  time  De 
Poincy,  in  St.  Christopher's,  was,  by  study  and  experi- 
ment, greatly  improving  the  art  of  growing  and  refining 
sugar.  Coffee  was  likewise  introduced  by  the  French, 
as  soon  as  it  had  become  the  fashion  in  Europe  to 
drink  it.  A  ship  was  sent  out  with  some  young  plants, 
but,  being  becalmed  on  the  way,  fresh  water  ran  so 
short  that  all  the  coffee-trees  died  except  one,  which 
was  saved  by  the  person  in  charge,  who  suffered  ago- 
nies of  thirst  for  its  sake.  It  was  the  parent  of  all  the 
numerous  coffee  plantations  in  Martinique  and  the  rest 
of  the  West  Indies.  Cocoa  and  ginger  were  also 
grown,  but,  unhappily,  none  of  these  industries  could 


170  Stories  of  American  History. 

be  carried  on  without  Negro  labor,  and  there  was  a 
constant  importation  of  slaves,  stolen  from  the  coast  of 
Africa.  Not  one  of  the  Christian  nations  was  guiltless 
in  this  matter,  but  the  French  were  said  to  be  kinder 
slave-masters  than  the  rest. 

The  group  of  islands  near  Florida,  called  the  Tortu- 
gas,  had  been  a  resort  of  buccaneers,  chiefly  of  French 
birth,  and  these  growing  tamer  came  under  the  parent 
government.  In  the  Island  of  St.  Vincent,  one  of  the 
Antilles,  the  Negroes  who  had  run  away  from  their 
masters  were  called  Maroons,  as  in  Jamaica.  They  put 
themselves  under  French  protection,  and  France  began 
to  be  one  of  the  strongest  powers  in  the  West  Indies. 

Spain  was  fast  growing  weaker.  Portugal,  in  1640, 
had  shaken  off  the  yoke  of  Spain,  and  Brazil  followed 
the  example  of  the  mother-country.  After  this  the 
Dutch  were  turned  out  of  Pernambuco,  but  allowed  to 
settle  in  Guiana,  on  the  northern  coast  of  the  conti- 
nent. The  French  likewise  had  settlements  there,  and 
called  their  colony  Cayenne.  Low,  swampy,  and  full 
of  forests,  the  country  was  baleful  to  human  life,  but 
very  good  for  rice,  sugar,  spice,  and  pepper,  and  thus 
valuable  to  people  who  did  not  care  at  what  price  they 
grew  rich. 

The  French  never  made  their  colonists  pay  taxes, 
and  even  lent  them  money  in  bad  seasons,  taking  pains 


The  Spread  of  French  Power.  171 

to  guard  them  from  pirates.  They  also  greatly  encour- 
aged missions.  The  Jesuit  missionaries  in  Canada,  who 
undauntedly  prosecuted  their  work,  were  extending 
their  teaching  far  and  wide  among  the  Indians.  The 
French  settlers  made  friends  with  the  natives,  often 
married  squaws,  and  were  on  better  terms  with  them 
than  any  of  the  other  nations.  In  1673  Jacques  Mar- 
quette,  a  Jesuit  missionary,  found  his  way  from  the 
great  lakes  down  the  river  Wisconsin  to  the  Mississippi, 
that  mightiest  of  rivers.  He  followed  the  Mississippi 
down  to  the  mouth  of  the  Arkansas,  and  then,  turning 
back,  took  the  river  Illinois  on  his  return,  having  voy- 
aged in  canoes  nearly  three  thousand  miles  in  four 
months.  Following  in  the  track  of  Marquette,  La 
Salle,  a  fur-trader,  a  man  of  wonderful  courage  and  en- 
durance, reached  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  by  the  Missis- 
sippi River,  in  1682.  He  had  held  the  plan  in  mind 
even  before  Marquette's  expedition,  and  contended  for 
years  against  opposition  and  jealousy.  He  returned 
to  France,  bearing  tidings  of  his  discovery,  and  the 
country  was  called  Louisiana,  after  Louis  XIV.  The 
French  contemplated  a  chain  of  forts  along  the  banks 
of  the  great  river,  to  connect  Louisiana  with  Canada. 
Direct  communication  was  held,  by  sea,  between  France 
and  Louisiana,  but  the  first  settlement  would  appear  to 
have  been  made,  in  1699,  at  Biloxi.  From  that  point 


172 


Stories  of  American  History. 


the  colonists,  starved  out,  attempted  the  settlement  at 
New  Orleans  in  1 706.  The  colony  languished.  Upon 
the  failure  of  John  Law's  great  Mississippi  scheme, 
the  colony  passed  in  1718  into  the  hands  of  Bienville, 
who  is  considered  the  founder  of  New  Orleans. 

During  the  prime  years  of  Louis  XIV,  the  English 


Dutch  Costumes  and  Buildings,  1620-1625. 

king,  Charles  II,  was  led  into  wars  with  the  Dutch  in 
which  the  colonies  took  part.     Indeed,  the  colonists 


The  Spread  of  French  Power.  1 73 

began  their  wars  in  1664,  while  the  mother-countries 
were  at  peace.  The  English  declared  that  they  had  the 
first  claim  to  New  Netherlands,  as  the  Dutch  had 
called  their  settlement  on  the  North  River,  and  an 
English  fleet  summoned  the  chief  city,  then  named 
New  Amsterdam,  to  surrender.  The  governor,  Stuy- 
vesant,  whose  nickname  was  Hard-headed  Peter,  tore 
the  letter  to  pieces ;  but  the  citizens  made  him  join  the 
bits  together,  and,  thinking  it  impossible  to  hold  out, 
forced  him  to  surrender,  though  he  declared  he  would 
rather  be  carried  out  dead.  The  Dutch  claim  was  di- 
vided into  two  provinces — one,  called  New  York,  in 
honor  of  James,  Duke  of  York  ;  the  other,  New  Jersey, 
in  compliment  to  Sir  George  Carteret,  one  of  the 
grantees,  some  time  governor  of  the  Channel  Island 
Jersey.  The  city  of  New  Amsterdam  became  the 
city  of  New  York.  The  Dutch  settlers  remained,  and 
kept  their  own  language  and  habits.  The  titles  of  land 
were  not  disturbed.  The  Patroons  still  kept  their 
manors  and  privileges.  Dutch  was  taught  in  the 
schools.  To  this  day  many  of  the  oldest  families  show 
their  parentage  by  their  names,  and  Dutch  words  re- 
main in  the  language. 

Among  the  religious  movements  which  preceded 
and  accompanied  and  followed  the  establishment  of  the 
Commonwealth  in  England  was  the  rise  of  the "  Society 


i  74  Stories  of  American  History. 

of  Friends,"  founded  by  George  Fox.  The  founder  of 
the  society  says  in  his  journal,  "  Justice  Bennett,  of  Der- 
by, was  the  first  that  called  us  Quakers,  because  I  bade 
them  tremble  at  the  name  of  the  Lord."  The  "  Friends  " 
maintained  that  spiritual  worship  forbids  all  sacra- 
ments, all  forms,  and  all  ordained  ministers ;  they  bound 
themselves  to  the  utmost  plainness  of  speech  and  of 
dress,  and  also  to  use  no  weapon,  even  in  self-defense. 
If,  even  in  England,  their  innovations  in  worship  and 
their  defiance  of  laws,  now  happily  obsolete,  subjected 
them  to  persecution,  and  even  to  popular  obloquy,  it  is 
no  wonder  that  in  Massachusetts  they  fared  ill.  The 
Quakers  at  their  beginning  were  as  yet  not  the  logical 
and  quiet  people  that  they  became  under  the  teachings 
of  Barclay  and  of  Penn.  They  were  not  at  first,  as 
they  now  are,  inoffensive  to  others,  asking  only  peace 
for  themselves.  The  laws  of  Massachusetts,  at  the 
date  when  the  people  called  Quakers  ventured  into 
the  colony,  imposed  stern  restrictions  upon  all  the 
people,  and  specially  directed  the  modes  of  public  wor- 
ship and  the  tenets  of  religion  as  the  founders  of  the 
colony  held  their  faith  and  worship.  To  permit  the 
Quakers  and  the  Baptists  to  set  the  magistrates  and 
the  laws  at  defiance  would  have  been,  as  the  Puritans 
thought,  to  subvert  the  state,  and  release  all  from 
obedience.  Severe  laws  were  added  to  those  already 


The  Spread  of  French  Power.  1 75 

in  existence.  The  meetings  of  Quakers  and  Baptists 
were  forbidden.  Their  books  were  burned,  and  they 
themselves  were  flogged.  They  were  banished  the  col- 
ony, and  if  they  returned  the  law  imposed  on  them 
the  penalty  of  death.  It  does  not  appear  that  more 
than  four  executions  took  place  under  this  barbarous 
law.  A  fifth  victim  was  convicted  and  sentenced  in 
the  year  1659.  But  the  inutility,  as  well  as  the  cruelty, 
of  persecution  began  to  be  acknowledged,  and  a  public 
opinion,  more  merciful  than  the  law,  required  a  stay  in 
these  wretched  proceedings.  The  condemned  man  was 
spared  and  set  at  liberty,  as  were  also  twenty-seven  of 
his  companions.  About  this  time  came  a  royal  order 
from  England  that  the  persecution  of  Quakers  and 
others  should  cease,  and  thus  the  death  of  the  four 
Quaker  martyrs  inaugurated  toleration.  In  England, 
too,  the  Quakers  were  winning  favor  in  the  people's 
minds  by  their  earnestness  and  their  simplicity,  so  un- 
like the  luxurious  and  ambitious  splendor  that  Louis 
XIV  of  France  had  made  the  fashion.  William  Penn, 
son  of  the  Admiral  Sir  William  Penn,  became  a  mem- 
ber of  the  society.  Born  to  wealth,  of  high  connec- 
tions, with  official  preferment  open  before  him,  he  cast 
in  his  lot  with  George  Fox  ;  and  never  did  a  new  sect 
obtain  in  one  person  a  more  valuable  accession.  The 
irritable  old  sailor  beat  William  as  a  boy,  and  turned 


176  Stories  of  American  History. 

him  out-of-doors,  after  he  had  been  expelled  from  Ox- 
ford for  consorting  with  "  Friends  "  and  "  Non-conform- 
ity." Recalling  his  son,  the  father  tried  the  experiment 
of  giving  him  a  tour  on  the  Continent  in  distinguished 
company,  among  whom  the  future  Quaker  was  quite 
a  cavalier  in  dress,  pursuits,  and  manners,  and  was  pro- 
nounced on  his  return  a  "  most  modish  fine  gentleman." 
He  had  even  a  captaincy  in  the  army  offered  him, 
which  but  for  his  father  he  would  have  accepted.  But 
the  young  man  returned  to  his  first  love  —  he  became 
a  pronounced  Quaker.  His  father  forbade  him  his 
house.  His  mother  conveyed  to  him  privately  an  al- 
lowance, and  William  Penn  became  an  industrious 
controversial  writer  and  preacher.  He  was  imprisoned 
nine  months  in  the  Tower  on  a  charge  of  heresy,  and 
his  release  was  obtained  at  last  by  the  influence  of  his 
father  with  the  Duke  of  York.  Again  he  was  arrest- 
ed, and  fined  for  contempt,  the  jury  failing  to  convict. 
His  father  paid  his  fine.  During  his  long  imprison- 
ment in  the  Tower  his  father,  respecting  the  firmness 
he  could  not  subdue,  was  his  frequent  visitor.  The 
old  admiral  gave  him  his  dying  blessing,  and  William 
Penn  became  heir,  among  other  things,  of  a  demand  of 
sixteen  thousand  pounds  against  the  royal  exchequer. 
Charles  II  was  very  willing  to  procure  the  canceling 
of  this  by  the  gift  of  a  tract  in  the  New  World.  The 


The  Spread  of  French  Power. 


177 


king  called  it  Penn-Sy\vania,  though  that  word,  with- 
out the  prefix,  was  Perm's  choice.  A  time  had  now 
come,  with  the  restoration  of  the  Stuarts,  whose  sym- 
pathies were  with  the  Roman  Church,  that  others  de- 
sired toleration  as  well  as  the  Quakers.  Penn's  broad, 
tolerant  mind  entertained  sympathy  for  all,  insomuch 


Penn  treating  with,  the  Indians. 

that  some  bigots  of  his  time  accused  him  of  being  a 
Jesuit.  His  hopes  were  directed  to  a  "holy  experi- 
ment," the  establishment  of  a  government  "  in  which 
perfect  toleration  should  prevent  religious  persecution, 


178  Stories  of  American  History. 

and  well-defined  civil  rights  secure  to  all  men  equality." 
A  refuge  for  the  Quakers,  Pennsylvania  was  also  opened 
to  all  who  called  themselves  Christians.  Penn's  char- 
ter was  granted  in  1681.  The  first  settlers  under  it 
sailed  in  the  same  year,  and  on  the  8th  of  November, 
1682,  Penn  landed  in  Philadelphia,  the  City  of  Brother- 
ly Love.  The  future  city  was  at  that  time  but  a  collec- 
tion of  wigwams  or  huts,  and  there  were  even  dwellers 
in  hollow  trees  and  in  caves.  The  advantages  of  the 
site,  the  character  of  the  laws,  and  reputation  of  the 
founder,  built  up  the  city  and  province.  Soon  after 
William  Penn's  landing  he  had  a  conference  with  the 
chiefs  of  the  neighboring  tribes,  and  made  friends  with 
them  so  firmly  that  for  years  it  was  the  highest  praise 
an  Indian  could  give  to  a  white  man  to  say  he  was  like 
Onas,  which  was  Penn's  Indian  name. 


CHAP.    XXIII.—  INDIAN   WARS. 


vA/FTER  the  cruel  extinction  of  the  Pequod  Indians 
fk*  in  1636,  there  was  generally  peace  with  the 
Indians  in  New  England  until  1675.  During  that 
period  the  labors  of  the  missionary  Eliot,  as  noted 
in  Chapter  XXI,  had  been  unremitting.  The  Indian 
towns,  generally  near  Boston,  were  about  fourteen,  and 
the  congregations  of  "praying  Indians"  are  said  to 
have  been  no  less  than  thirty.  Several  sachems  were 
among  them,  but  the  great  body  of  the  Indians  were 
jealous  and  suspicious  of  the  converts  ;  and  some 
powerful  tribes  resolutely  proclaimed  their  determi- 
nation to  abide  by  the  customs  of  their  fathers.  In- 
deed, Massasoit,  the  first  sachem  with  whom  the 
colonists  made  treaties,  wished  to  insert  a  clause  that 
the  English  should  not  attempt  to  convert  the  Indians. 
Of  course  this  was  not  assented  to.  And  what  a  trea- 
ty meant  was  little  understood  by  the  Indians.  The 


180  Stories  of  American  History. 

Indians  considered  themselves  allies,  and  the  colonists 
claimed  jurisdiction.  Individual  Indians  made  sales 
of  land  which  their  sachems  disallowed,  and  the 
decisions  of  the  English  courts  only  further  aggrieved 
the  natives.  The  Christian  Indians  were  suspected 
of  furnishing  information  or  repeating  rumors  to  the 
disadvantage  of  their  race  ;  and,  as  the  hunting-grounds 
of  the  natives  passed  from  their  possession,  quarrels 
were  constantly  arising  between  the  Indians  and  the 
border  settlers.  An  unfortunate  condition  of  mutual 
exasperation  existed,  which  at  last  broke  out  into  war. 
Massasoit  died  about  the  year  1653,  at  an  advanced 
age,  having  been  from  their  first  arrival  the  friend  of 
the  English,  though  he  never  would  consent  to  Chris- 
tianity. About  that  time  his  two  sons,  Wamsutta  and 
Metacom,  came  to  Plymouth,  and  in  open  court  pro- 
fessed their  friendship  for  the  English,  and  desired 
that  names  should  be  given  them.  Wamsutta  received 
the  name  of  Alexander,  and  Metacom  was  named 
Philip.  By  these  names  they  are  usually  spoken  of. 
Alexander  succeeded  his  father,  but  upon  an  accusation 
that  he  had  made  war  upon  certain  Indians,  subjects 
of  the  English,  he  was  summarily  seized  by  the 
authorities  to  be  taken  to  Plymouth  to  answer  the 
charge.  He  died  within  three  days  of  fever,  or  morti- 
fication. This  was  in  1661. 


Indian   Wars.  1 8 1 


Philip,  the  younger  brother,  succeeded  Alexander 
and  appeared  at  Plymouth  to  profess  his  friendship, 
and  obtain  recognition  as  sachem  of  the  Wampanoags, 
that  being  the  chief  tribe  under  his  rule.  But  the 
indignity — if  no  worse — that  Alexander  had  suffered 
deepened  the  mutual  distrust  between  the  Indians  and 
the  English  till,  in  1675,  the  famous  King  Philip's  war 
broke  out.  The  colonists  had  become  convinced  that 
Philip  was  organizing  an  alliance  among  the  various 
tribes  against  them,  and  preparations  for  war  were 
reported  among  the  Indians.  Conferences  between 
Philip  and  the  Plymouth  men  were  held,  in  which  he 
promised  everything  demanded  of  him.  Still,  the  colo- 
nists were  in  a  state  of  great  alarm  and  uncertainty. 

Philip  was  summoned  in  the  spring  of  1675  to 
appear  at  Plymouth,  and  submit  to  an  examination  in 
regard  to  his  conduct.  And  here  comes  in  the  name 
of  an  Indian  who,  whether  designedly  or  not,  caused 
the  outbreak  of  hostilities.  John  Sassamon,  belonging 
to  a  family  of  "praying  Indians,"  received  the  advan- 
tages of  Eliot's  educational  provisions,  and  went 
from  Cambridge  to  Natick  as  a  teacher.  On  account 
of  some  misdemeanor,  it  is  said  he  left  Natick. 
However  that  may  be,  he  renounced  Christianity,  and 
carried  the  exercise  of  his  gifts  over  to  King  Philip, 
whom  he  served  as  a  competent  secretary.  Again  he 


1 82  Stories  of  American  History. 

veered  in  his  professions,  principles  he  could  have  had 
none,  went  back  to  Natick,  and  gave  such  evidences 
of  repentance  that  the  venerable  Eliot  received  and 
employed  him.  After  this,  Sassamon,  under  one  pre- 
text and  another,  visited  King  Philip's  tribe  frequent- 
ly, and  reported  to  the  English  what  he  heard  and 
saw,  and  probably  what  he  imagined.  About  the  time 
that  Philip  was  cited,  Sassamon  made  one  of  his  visits 
to  the  Wampanoags.  It  was  his  last.  His  body  was 
found  thrust  through  a  hole  in  the  ice,  with  his  neck 
broken,  and  his  hat  and  gun  near  by,  as  if  he  had  com- 
mitted suicide.  A  jury  was  empaneled,  who  decided 
that  he  had  been  murdered.  Three  prominent  Indians 
were  seized,  convicted  of  the  murder  on  the  single 
testimony  of  another  Indian,  and  forthwith  hanged. 
The  young  men  of  their  tribe  instantly  retaliated  by  an 
attack  on  the  settlement  of  Swanzey,  which  was  burned, 
and  in  and  near  it  several  persons  were  slain. 

Thus  began  King  Philip's  war.  It  lasted  over  a 
year,  and  not  one  open  battle  took  place.  Every- 
where in  the  out-settlements,  and  near  the  villages,  the 
savages  pounced  upon  their  victims,  or  shot  them  from 
their  ambush,  and  all  New  England  was  kept  in  ter- 
ror. 

The  list  of  disasters  and  burnings  is  too  long  to 
give ;  the  result  in  loss  to  the  colonists  was  the  death 


Indian    Wars. 


183 


of  more  than  six  hundred  men  in  the  prime  of  man- 
hood, besides  women  and  children.  There  was  scarcely 
a  family  but  lost  a  member.  Twelve  or  thirteen  towns 
were  destroyed,  and  one  in  every  twenty  families  was 
burned  out  of  house  and  home.  On  the  side  of  the 


Puritans  attacking  an  Indian  Fort. 

Indians,  between  two  and  three  thousand  were  killed 
or  made  prisoners  ;  and  of  the  captives,  against  the 
protest  of  Eliot,  large  numbers  were  sold  as  slaves  in 
the  isles  where  the  tropically  born  Indians  had  already 
been  worked  to  death.  Within  a  month  from  the 
beginning  of  the  war  Philip  was  driven  from  his  home 


184  Stories  of  American  History. 

at  Mount  Hope,  and  from  that  time  he  was  to  the 
English  a  nearly  invisible  enemy,  inciting  the  Indian 
tribes  to  sudden  but  disconnected  attacks.  He  had 
many  narrow  escapes  ;  but  at  last  determined  to  return 
to  the  home  of  his  tribe,  a  hunted  man.  His  own 
tribe  now  began  to  plot  against  the  ruined  chieftain. 
Once  more  he  narrowly  escaped,  but  his  wife  and  only 
son  were  captured.  "  Now,"  he  said,  "  my  heart 
breaks — I  am  ready  to  die ! "  A  few  days  afterward 
he  was  shot  by  a  faithless  Indian.  His  son  was  sold 
as  a  slave  in  the  Bermudas.  So  ended  the  last  of  the 
Wampanoags  ;  and  with  the  end  of  King  Philip's  war 
the  hostile  spirit  of  the  Indians  in  Massachusetts  was 
quenched. 

In  Maine,  the  tidings  of  the  Indian  rising  in  Mas- 
sachusetts was  the  signal  for  war  by  the  Indians  upon 
the  settlers.  But  there  was  no  general  rising  of  the 
tribes.  The  sailors  of  an  English  ship  were  guilty  of 
outrages  upon  the  Indians,  and  they  avenged  them- 
selves upon  the  settlers.  Among  these  lawless  acts  it 
is  recorded  that  a  party  of  sailors  seized  a  canoe,  in 
which  were  an  Indian  woman  and  child,  and,  having 
heard  that  an  Indian  baby  could  swim  like  a  duck, 
they  threw  it  into  the  river  Saco.  The  mother  dived 
and  rescued  it,  but  it  died  directly  after.  The  father, 
a  considerable  chief,  vowed  vengeance,  and  a  war,  or 


Indian   Wars.  185 


series  of  forays  along  the  whole  border,  commenced, 
and  lasted  for  nearly  three  years.  The  traditions  of 
the  early  days  of  Maine  are  full  of  Indian  horrors. 
At  Norridgewock  the  Indians  attacked  a  farmhouse, 
where  the  men  were  absent,  leaving,  unprotected,  fif- 
teen women  and  children.  A  brave  girl,  named  Tozer, 
set  her  back  against  the  door  to  keep  it  fast  while 
the  others  escaped.  All  saved  themselves  except  the 
brave  girl  and  two  poor  little  children  who  could  not 
get  over  the  fence.  The  Indians  cut  through  the  door 
with  their  hatchets,  and  left  the  poor  girl  for  dead,  but 
her  friends  found  her  and  she  recovered. 

For  the  most  part  the  French  suited  themselves 
much  better  to  the  red-skins  than  the  English  had 
done.  Not  only  had  their  clergy  done  their  best  as 
missionaries,  but  the  settlers,  with  their  merry  good- 
humor,  had  adapted  themselves  to  their  habits,  and 
been  adopted  into  their  tribes,  and  the  Governor  of 
Canada,  Count  de  Frontenac,  learned  the  war-dance 
and  danced  with  the  chiefs.  Nova  Scotia,  with  very 
indefinite  boundaries,  was  ceded  back  to  France  in 
1667,  and  Frenchmen  settled  far  down  in  Maine. 
Baron  de  Castin  had  a  trading  station  on  the  Penob- 
scot  River,  at  a  point  where  his  name  is  still  preserved. 
He  married  the  daughter  of  a  sachem,  lived  like  a 
sachem,  and  was  obeyed  as  one.  Like  the  other 


1 86  Stories  of  American  History. 

traders,  he  made  no  scruple  of  selling  arms  to  the 
Indians,  and  thus  the  struggle  was  prolonged  and 
enmity  was  stored  up  against  the  French.  Peace  at 
last  was  made  by  a  treaty,  in  which  it  was  stipulated 
that  in  return  for  their  security  the  English  should  pay 
an  annual  quitrent  of  a  peck  of  corn  for  every  English 
family. 

Tribe  hatreds  were  strong  among  the  Indians,  and 
were  increased  by  their  siding  with  this  European 
nation  or  that.  The  friends  of  the  French,  the 
Hurons,  Abenaquis,  and  Algonquins,  were  the  ancient 
foes  of  the  Iroquois,  who  were  formerly  called  the 
Five  Nations,  because  they  consisted  of  five  tribes — 
the  Cayugas,  Mohawks,  Oneidas,  Onondagas,  and 
Senecas.  Another  tribe,  the  Tuscaroras,  afterward 
joined,  and  the  confederacy  is  now  usually  spoken  of  as 
the  Six  Nations.  But  as  the  Tuscaroras  did  not  come 
in  until  1712,  the  old  name  may  still  be  used.  The 
Five  Nations  were  the  friends,  first  of  the  Dutch,  then 
of  the  English,  and  both  the  French  and  Dutch  fur- 
nished the  Indians.  Even  when  there  was  a  treaty  be- 
tween the  European  powers,  their  red  allies  carried  on 
their  own  quarrels,  and  thus  involved  the  whites.  In 
1687  the  French  entrapped  a  number  of  Mohawks,  and 
shipped  them  off  to  work  as  galley-slaves  in  France. 
The  Mohawks  in  revenge  burned  and  destroyed 


Indian    Wars. 


187 


French  settlements  in  Canada.  In  1690  war  between 
France  and  England  having  followed  the  Revolution 
of  1688  and  the  accession  of  William  III,  the  French 
Governor  of  Canada,  Frontenac,  dispatched  three 
expeditions  in  midwinter  —  one  against  New  York, 
one  against  New  Hampshire,  and  one  against  Maine. 
The  white  and  red  allies  worked  together.  Much 
mischief  was  done,  including  the  destruction  of  Sche- 
nectady.  The  English  colonists  invaded  Canada  in 
return,  and  this  kind  of  warfare  went  on  for  years, 
till  the  Peace  of  Rys- 
wick  in  1697  put  a 
temporary  end  to  it. 
It  was  conducted 
with  more  savagery 
than  one  can  bear  to 
think  of.  The  tribes 
who  had  listened  to 
the  missionaries  were 
beginning  to  give  up 
the  practice  of  tor- 
turing their  captives; 
but  the  state  of 
things  was  so  terrible  that  a  price  was  paid  on  both 
sides  for  the  head  or  the  scalp  of  a  hostile  Indian. 
Every  village  in  the  north  of  the  colonies  lived  in  con- 


Block  ffozise,  for  defense  against  Indians. 


1 88  Stories  of  American  History. 

slant  alarm.  After  the  Treaty  of  Ryswick  there  was  a 
lull,  but  it  was  of  short  duration.  In  1702  the  English 
and  French  were  again  at  war,  and  the  old  enmities  of 
the  whites  and  Indians  were  revived.  On  the  last  night 
in  February,  1704,  a  party  of  French  and  Indians  came 
from  Canada  to  the  little  town  of  Deerfield,  in  the  colony 
of  Massachusetts.  The  settlers  had  been  warned  by 
the  Mohawk  Indians  of  their  danger.  A  stockade  had 
been  erected  and  sentinels  placed,  but  they  had  retired 
as  morning  broke,  and  the  people  were  waked  from 
their  sleep  by  the  war-whoop.  The  enemy  was  within 
the  place,  no  resistance  was  possible.  Forty-seven 
were  killed,  and  over  a  hundred  in  number  were  carried 
off  as  prisoners.  The  village  was  set  on  fire,  and  all 
the  buildings  except  one  house  and  the  church  were 
burned.  In  an  hour  after  sunrise,  before  the  few  who 
escaped  could  give  the  alarm,  the  stealthy  savages 
were  on  their  return.  The  wretched  captives  had 
their  clothes  taken  from  them,  and  no  food  given 
them  except  nuts  and  acorns  and  scraps  of  dog's  flesh. 
The  weak  \vho  could  not  keep  up  with  the  rest  were 
killed,  except  such  children  as  pleased  the  Indians, 
and  for  them  they  made  sledges.  All  who  could  walk 
were  forced  to  carry  burdens.  Such  as  reached  Cana- 
da were  sold  to  the  French  as  slaves,  but  were  kindly 
treated  and  allowed  to  be  ransomed  by  their  friends. 


Indian   Wars.  1 89 


Among  the  captives  were  John  Williams,  the 
pastor  of  Deerfield,  his  wife  and  five  children.  The 
wife  was  killed  by  the  Indians  on  the  way.  Mr. 
Williams  was  released  in  1706,  and  on  his  return 
published  "  The  Redeemed  Captive,"  a  narrative 
of  his  sad  adventures.  His  wife  Eunice  deserves  a 
name  among  the  saints.  She  did  not  leave  her  Bible 
behind,  and  the  wondering  savages  looked  at  her  as, 
when  they  rested,  she  turned  to  its  pages  for  conso- 
lation. At  last  she  could  go  no  farther,  and  sank 
down  to  die.  Her  husband  cheered  her  with  the  hope 
of  the  "  house  not  made  with  hands,  eternal  in  the 
heavens."  She  "  justified  God  in  what  had  happened," 
and  commended  her  five  children  to  God,  and  their 
father's  care.  A  tomahawk  ended  her  sufferings,  and 
her  husband  said,  "  She  rests  in  peace,  in  joy  un- 
speakable and  full  of  glory."  Of  her  children  three 
sons  became  ministers  of  the  gospel,  and  one  daughter, 
having  been  adopted  by  Christian  Indians  in  Montreal, 
would  not  leave  them.  She  married  a  son  of  the 
family,  and  when,  years  after,  she  visited  her  friends  in 
Deerfield,  it  was  in  an  Indian  dress,  which  with  Indian 
customs  she  never  laid  aside.  She  clung  to  her 
husband  and  children.  Others  of  the  children  of  this 
captivity  became  hunters  and  trappers. 

In  the  thirty  years  after  the  outbreak  of  Philip's 


190  Stories  of  American  History. 

war  the  "praying  Indians"  kept  their  loyalty  to  the 
English.  The  Government  trusted  them,  but  the 
people  were  jealous  of  them,  and  not  quite  just  or 
merciful.  In  the  stern  Old  Testament  idea  of  national 
policy,  the  Indians  were  to  them  Hivites  and  Jebu- 
sites  and  children  of  Ammon.  All  through  the  time 
from  the  days  of  Philip,  dreadful  incidents  were  hap- 
pening like  those  we  have  been  reading  ;  and  when 
there  was  no  public  war,  which  was  seldom,  there 
would  be  private  quarrels.  All  these  things  were 
against  the  conversion  of  the  Indians,  but  efforts  still 
were  made.  Services  were  held  for  them  in  the 
English  church  at  Albany,  and  Easter  -  Day  was  a 
great  holiday  for  the  Mohawks  who  came  to  the 
communion.  The  praying  town  of  Natick  was 
broken  up  by  the  war  with  Philip.  The  Indians 
whom  the  people  distrusted  were  removed  to  Deer 
Island  in  Boston  Harbor,  where  during  the  winter 
they  suffered  piteously.  One  party  was  plundered  on 
the  way  by  some  English  soldiers ;  was  plundered  of 
all  they  had,  even  to  their  poor  pewter  communion 
chalice.  After  the  war  they  crept  back  to  Natick,  and 
as  long  as  Eliot  lived,  which  was  till  1690,  they  kept 
their  character  as  "  praying  Indians."  After  his  death, 
from  the  hatred  of  their  own  race,  and  the  jealousy  of 
the  whites,  they  faded  away. 


Indian   Wars.  191 


The  sale  of  "  fire-water  "  was  not  restricted,  and  it 
became  the  red  man's  curse  as  well  as  the  white 
man's.  Indians  made  sales  of  land,  which  in  their  sober 
after  -  thought  they  denied.  The  white  settlements 
spoiled  the  Indian  hunting-grounds.  The  Indian  was 
warned  off  and  roughly  treated ;  he  retaliated  by 
stealing  cattle,  if  not  children,  and  burning  houses. 
He  was  shot  at  like  a  wild  beast,  then  he  fell  on  the 
Englishman  with  the  cunning  and  cruelty  of  a  fiend. 
So  along  the  borders  the  Indians  were  nearly  driven 
off,  and  those  who  remained  withered  away  under  the 
influence  of  dirt,  brandy,  despair,  and  a  cramped  life. 
This  has  been  going  on  for  two  hundred  years,  and, 
though  it  can  not  be  said  to  be  over  yet,  the  conscious- 
ness of  strength  now  makes  the  white  merciful,  in 
cases  where  weakness  and  fear  made  him  desperate 
and  cruel. 

The  Six  Nations  in  New  York  sided  with  the 
English  in  her  war  with  her  colonies.  Their  service 
was  accepted,  in  spite  of  the  indignant  protest  of  the 
Earl  of  Chatham,  and  the  opposition  of  other  high- 
minded  Englishmen.  The  massacres  of  Wyoming 
and  of  Cherry  Valley,  and  the  murder  of  farmers  near 
Fort  Schuyler,  with  the  devastation  of  miles  around, 
show  their  course,  and  these  are  but  leading  incidents. 
In  lesser  atrocities  they  spared  neither  friend  nor  foe. 


192 


Stories  of  American  History. 


A  portion  of  the  Senecas  remain  on  a  reservation  still 
in  New  York  ;  the  Mohawks  retired  to  Canada  after 
the  war ;  and  both  are  thriving  under  Christian  in- 
fluence. The  Mohawks  have  the  Bible  and.  Prayer 
Book;  but  of  Eliot's  "praying  Indians"  there  was 
not  one  alive  at  the  beginning  of  this  century  who 
could  read  the  Indian  Bible. 


CHAP.  XXIV.— THE   ENGLISH  CONQUEST 
OF   CANADA. 

1732—1762. 

/TV  HE  English  settlements  were  but  a  narrow  line 
-L  along  the  coast  of  North  America,  for  a  thousand 
miles,  with  the  French  to  the  north  of  them,  and  the 
Spaniards  to  the  south ;  and  they  were  in  great  dread 
and  jealousy  of  both.  Whenever  there  was  war  in 
Europe  the  colonists  attacked  one  another;  and,  as 
Florida  became  fuller  of  Spanish  settlers,  it  was 
thought  to  threaten  Carolina.  James  Edward  Ogle- 
thorpe,  a  brave  English  gentleman,  who  had  served  on 
the  staff  of  Prince  Eugene,  and  on  his  return  to  Eng- 
land entered  Parliament,  was  appointed  a  commissioner 
for  the  relief  of  insolvent  debtors,  and  inquiry  into  the 
state  of  prisons.  People  were  then  imprisoned  for  debt, 
and  as  of  course  they  could  do  nothing  to  pay  what 
they  owed,  there  they  lay  for  life  in  a  hopeless  state  of 
misery  and  neglect.  General  Oglethorpe  persuaded 
13 


i94 


Stories  of  American  History. 


King  George  II  and  Parliament  that  it  would  be  a 
good  thing  to  have  another  colony  between  Carolina 
and  Florida ;  and  to  permit  him  to  hold  land  in  trust 
for  the  poor,  peopling  it  with  the  most  deserving  of 
these  poor  debtors,  and  with  other  unfortunate  persons. 
In  1733  Oglethorpe  landed  with  his  first  party  of  emi- 


Govemor  Oglethorpe  and  the  Indians. 


grants,  and  laid  out  and  founded  the  city  of  Savannah ; 
and  "  the  humane  reformer  of  prison  discipline  became 
the  father  of  a  state,  the  place  of  refuge  for  the  dis- 
tressed people  of  Britain,  and  the  persecuted  Protes- 


The  English  Conquest  of  Canada.  195 

tants  of  Europe."  After  about  a  year's  sojourn  in  his 
colony,  during  which  he  established  friendly  relations 
with  the  Indians,  Oglethorpe  returned  to  England,  and 
in  1 736  went  out  again  with  a  new  party  of  emigrants. 
Among  them  were  a  company  of  Moravians,  and  John 
and  Charles  Wesley,  the  founders  of  Methodism. 
After  Wesley,  followed  Whitefield  four  years  later, 
another  of  the  Methodist  pioneers.  He  visited  all  the 
English  colonies,  from  Florida  to  the  northern  frontier. 
His  great  object  was  help  for  Georgian  orphans,  whose 
parents  had  been  sometimes  solely  recommended  by 
poverty,  without  energy.  Whitefield  made  many  voy- 
ages and  many  land  journeys,  and  died  in  1770  at 
Newbury  in  Massachusetts.  His  bones  repose  in  the 
crypt  of  a  church  in  Newburyport,  where  they  may  be 
seen  by  visitors ;  a  rare,  perhaps  unique,  instance  of  re- 
spect to  Protestant  relics,  and  certainly  without  a  par- 
allel in  the  United  States. 

The  Moravians  who  went  out  with  Oglethorpe 
were  the  re-enforcement  of  a  larger  body  who  had  gone 
out  before.  They  claimed  their  origin  from  John  Huss, 
and  claimed  also  a  succession  of  bishops.  Persecuted 
on  the  Continent  of  Europe,  the  Society  for  the  Propa- 
gation of  the  Gospel,  seconding  the  enterprise  of  Ogle- 
thorpe, invited  them  to  settle  in  Georgia,  as  the  colony 
had  been  named.  They  received  free  passage,  provis- 


196  Stories  of  American  History. 

ion  for  a  whole  season,  allotments  of  land,  and  all  the 
privileges  of  native  Englishmen.  Scottish  Highland- 
ers, who,  after  the  failing  of  the  Jacobite  risings,  could 
no  longer  live  at  home,  joined  the  colony,  and  volun- 
teers from  many  directions  came  in.  Oglethorpe  trained 
his  colonists  to  fight  bravely  against  the  Spaniards,  and 
promoted  habits  of  industry.  He  thought  the  climate 
of  Georgia  good  for  silk-worms,  and  brought  them  into 
the  colony,  choosing  as  its  arms,  a  family  of  these  little 
creatures,  with  the  motto,  "  Not  for  themselves  but 
others."  His  laws  allowed  no  slavery;  but  after  his 
surrender  of  his  charter  and  colony  to  the  crown,  in 
1752,  slavery  crept  in,  and  Negroes  were  owned  by  the 
rich  colonists  of  Georgia,  as  well  as  everywhere  else  in 
America. 

The  Spanish  power  was  weak.  It  was  the  French 
that  was  really  alarming.  The  chain  of  forts  was 
spreading,  which  was  to  connect  Louisiana  with  Can- 
ada. Along  the  northern  border  there  was  constant 
petty  warfare ;  the  French  Canadians  invading  New 
England,  and  the  men  of  New  England  and  Canada, 
and  the  Indian  allies  of  each,  committing  atrocities  on 
their  neighbors.  When  in  1712  peace  followed  the 
war  between  England  and  France,  which  had  lasted 
nine  years,  Acadie,  or,  as  we  call  it,  Nova  Scotia,  was 
yielded  to  the  English,  but  the  boundary  was  not  fully 


The  English  Conquest  of  Canada.          197 

made  out,  and  the  border  war  went  on.  It  was  princi- 
pally in  the  hands  of  the  Indians,  who  could  not  under- 
stand how  they  were  made,  by  treaties  in  which  they 
had  no  voice,  subject  first  to  one  European  power  and 
then  another. 

There  was  a  brief  interval  of  quiet,  but  the  war  in 
the  colonies  broke  out  with  double  force  when  George 
II  and  Louis  XV  went  to  war  in  1 740  about  the  acces- 
sion of  Maria  Theresa.  In  1744,  Annapolis,  an  Aca- 
dian city,  whose  name  had  been  changed  in  honor  of 
Queen  Anne,  was  threatened  by  a  French  expedition, 
which  surprised  an  English  garrison  on  the  Strait  of 
Canseau.  Annapolis  was  not  taken,  but  the  French 
plundered  the  port,  and  carried  off  some  prisoners  to 
Louisburg,  a  fort  on  Cape  Breton,  so  strong  that  it  was 
called  the  American  Gibraltar,  as  it  commanded  the 
mouths  of  the  river  St.  Lawrence.  These  prisoners, 
upon  their  release  on  parole,  told  Governor  Shirley,  of 
Massachusetts,  of  some  weak  points  in  the  fortification, 
and  an  expedition  was  fitted  out  by  New  England 
men  alone — without  help  from  England — which  actu- 
ally mastered  this  fort,  and  thus  saved  their  own  coun- 
try from  an  invasion.  The  expedition  was  commanded 
by  William  Pepperel,  a  merchant  of  Maine,  who  for 
this  exploit  was  knighted.  The  colonists  were  greatly 
disappointed  and  angered,  when,  two  years  later,  at  the 


198  Stories  of  American  History. 

Peace  of  Aix-la-Chapelle,  their  conquest   was   given 
back  to  the  French. 

The  French  forts  continued  to  spread  at  the  West, 
beyond  the  Alleghany  Mountains.  No  English  colo- 
nists had  yet  made  homes  there,  and  each  nation 
claimed  the  country — the  French,  because  Marquette 
and  La  Salle  had  first  discovered  it ;  the  English,  as 
having  bought  it  from  the  Indians.  In  1749  a  charter 
was  granted  to  certain  colonists  of  Virginia  and  Mary- 
land, under  which  was  formed  the  Ohio  Company,  for 
the  settlement  of  the  Ohio  Valley.  Here  began  quar- 
rels with  the  French,  who  drove  back  the  settlers,  and 
even  established  forts  in  the  borders  of  Pennsylvania. 
Governor  Dinwiddie,  of  Virginia,  resolved  to  send  a 
messenger  to  expostulate  with  the  French  officers. 
He  selected  for  this  purpose  George  Washington.  He 
was  a  Virginian,  born  February  22,  1732,  of  one  of  the 
old  families,  who  lived  in  the  colony  like  English 
squires.  His  father  died  when  he  was  ten  years  old, 
and  he  was  largely  indebted  to  his  elder  brother  Law- 
rence for  his  education  and  the  formation  of  his  char- 
acter. In  his  education  the  practical  was  uppermost, 
and  Lord  Fairfax,  the  grantee  of  an  immense  tract  in 
Virginia,  noticing  the  exactness  of  his  work  in  his  ex- 
ercises in  surveying  near  his  home,  employed  the  lad  of 
sixteen  to  survey  the  Fairfax  domain.  So  well  was 


The  English  Conquest  of  Canada.  199 

the  work  done  that  Lord  Fairfax  procured  for  him,  at 
eighteen,  the  appointment  of  public  surveyor.  The 
Ohio  troubles  had  awakened  a  military  spirit  in  Vir- 


ginia,  and,  when  the  colony  was  divided  into  military 
districts  for  the  training  of  the  militia,  George  Wash- 
ington, at  the  age  of  nineteen,  was  appointed  one  of  the 
adjutants-general,  with  the  rank  of  major.  His  brother 
Lawrence,  one  of  the  chief  men  in  the  Ohio  Company, 


2OO  Stories  of  American  History. 

no  doubt  influenced  these  appointments ;  and  the  con- 
duct of  the  younger  brother  vindicated  the  elder's 
choice.  George  Washington  was  twenty-one  years  of 
age  when,  in  the  beginning  of  the  winter  of  1753,  he 
started  on  his  mission,  traveling  with  Indian  help 
through  dangerous  forests,  and  crossing  the  rivers  in 
canoes,  swimming  the  horses.  After  all,  the  French 
gave  no  redress,  but  showed  plainly  that  they  meant  to 


Washington's  Rescue  from  the  Ice. 


have  the  whole  Ohio  Valley.  The  return  journey  was 
still  worse.  They  counted  on  crossing  the  rivers  on 
the  ice,  but  found  the  Alle'ghany  frozen  solid  only  a 


The  English  Conquest  of  Canada.  201 

few  rods  from  the  shore,  and  were  obliged  to  construct 
a  raft.  The  current  was  full  of  floating  blocks,  one  of 
which  struck  Washington's  setting-pole,  jerking  him 
into  the  water.  He  saved  himself  by  catching  hold  of 
the  logs  of  the  raft.  After  a  night  of  suffering,  the 
party  managed  to  cross  the  river  on  the  drift-ice  which 
was  wedged  together. 

The  Virginians  resolved  on  the  defense  of  the 
frontier.  There  was  peace  between  France  and  Eng- 
land, but  each  power  sent  armaments  to  America  to 
defend  its  frontiers.  Virginia  asked  help  from  the 
other  provinces,  but  none  would  give  it  but  South 
Carolina.  The  French  could  not  be  hindered  from 
establishing  a  fresh  post,  Fort  Duquesne,  at  the  con- 
fluence of  the  Ohio  and  Monongahela,  which  completed 
the  line  of  sixty  from  Quebec  to  New  Orleans.  Then 
General  Braddock  was  sent  with  an  army  to  help  the 
colonists.  He  was  cautioned  by  Benjamin  Franklin, 
now  from  a  printer's  boy  become  a  prominent  official, 
and  he  was  warned  by  others,  of  the  character  of  In- 
dian warfare.  Disregarding  advice,  he  proceeded  in  his 
own  way  into  the  forests.  George  Washington,  after 
a  campaign  with  Virginian  settler:,  had  resigned  his 
colonial  commission ;  but  he  accepted  an  invitation 
from  General  Braddock  to  join  his  staff.  On  the  Qth 
of  July,  1755,  within  seven  miles  of  Fort  Duquesne, 


2O2  Stories  of  American  History. 

while  following  a  path  only  twelve  feet  wide,  but  in 
martial  array,  the  English  marched  into  an  ambush. 
The  French  and  Indians  were  much  fewer  in  number, 
but  numbers  were  of  no  use  in  such  a  place  ;  and  the 
English  soldiers  were  confused  and  dismayed  by  this 
mode  of  fighting,  with  the  enemy  hidden  among  the 
trees.  Braddock  retreated,  mortally  wounded,  and 
Washington,  the  only  one  of  his  staff  who  was  unhurt, 
had  to  do  his  best  with  his  Virginian  rangers  to  cover 
the  retreat.  One  half  of  the  English  force  was  killed 
or  wounded.  Three  companies  of  rangers  had  only 
thirty  men  left  alive.  Out  of  eighty  British  officers, 
twenty-six  were  killed  and  thirty-six  were  wounded. 
Of  Washington,  the  Indians  said  that  the  Great 
Manitou  guarded  him.  Two  horses  were  killed  un- 
der him,  and  four  balls  penetrated  his  coat. 

The  Indians  thought  that  luck  went  with  the  French 
and  the  border  burnings  and  desolations  were  worse 
than  ever.  At  the  north  the  English  claimed  that 
Nova  Scotia  included  all  the  tract  now  known  as  New 
Brunswick,  as  well  as  that  now  known  as  Nova  Scotia. 
The  French  claimed  that  the  Bay  of  Fundy  was  the 
dividing  line.  Nova  Scotia,  which  had  been  for  thirty 
years  a  British  province,  had,  in  its  population,  seven- 
teen or  eighteen  thousand  French  settlers,  who  were 
excused  from  bearing  arms  against  France,  and  were 


The  English   Conquest  of  Canada.  203 

called  "  French  Neutrals,"  but  were  suspected,  with 
more  or  less  justice,  of  being  ready  to  favor  any  move- 
ment to  restore  their  ancient  allegiance.  The  dispute 
about  the  boundary  between  New  France  and  Nova 
Scotia,  carried  on  by  protocol  in  Europe,  was  brought 
to  a  point  by  the  French  in  America,  who  erected  two 
forts  on  the  peninsula  at  the  head  of  the  Bay  of  Fun- 
dy.  Massachusetts  furnished  three  thousand  men, 
the  commander  of  which  force  was  subordinated  to  an 
English  officer  who  joined  the  Massachusetts  men 
there  on  landing.  The  two  forts  were  taken  without 
difficulty,  and  in  the  garrisons  were  found  three  hun- 
dred French  neutrals.  To  disperse  the  soldiers  was 
easy  enough,  but  to  manage  the  fifteen  or  twenty 
thousand  Acadians  was  not  so  easy.  The  Governor 
of  Nova  Scotia,  the  Chief  Justice  of  the  province,  and 
two  British  admirals,  at  a  council  held  in  July,  1755, 
determined  on  the  deportation  of  the  unfortunate 
Frenchmen.  They  were  taken  off  in  ships,  and  landed 
at  various  ports,  every  colony  receiving  its  quota. 
Some  escaped,  but  the  number  actually  transported 
is  estimated  at  from  seven  to  ten  thousand.  Their 
country  was  laid  waste,  and  their  houses  were  burned, 
and  great  hardships  attended  their  removal.  It  was 
a  harsh  and  cruel  measure,  the  only  excuse  for  which 
was  what  was  deemed  a  military  necessity.  The  sym- 


204  Stories  of  American  History. 

pathy  of  the  world  has  been  with  the  Acadians ;  and 
Longfellow's  poem,  "  Evangeline,"  is  founded  on  the 
story  of  these  exiles.  After  the  peace  of  1763,  those 
who  survived  were  permitted  to  return ;  but  only 
some  thirteen  or  fourteen  hundred  were  found  to  ac- 
cept the  permission.  The  colonial  Assemblies,  in 
many  instances,  had  provided  for  the  passage  of  the 
exiles  to  France,  Canada,  St.  Domingo,  and  Louisiana. 

War  between  England  and  France  was  declared  in 
1756,  and  the  hostilities  of  the  colonies  were  indorsed 
by  the  mother-countries.  Things  went  ill  with  England 
nearly  all  through  1757,  but  in  1758  the  tide  began 
to  turn.  Washington,  under  Brigadier-General  John 
Forbes,  assisted  in  driving  the  French  out  of  the  Ohio 
Valley.  Fort  Duquesne  was  taken,  and  renamed  Fort 
Pitt :  it  is  now  the  city  of  Pittsburg.  Fort  Niagara, 
near  the  Falls,  was  taken  with  other  posts,  and  the 
great  line  of  forts  was  broken. 

Ticonderoga,  an  advance  post  which  the  French 
had  established  in  New  York,  surrendered  to  the 
British  arms,  after  having  twice  repulsed  them.  Louis- 
burg,  on  Cape  Breton,  was  recaptured,  General  Wolfe 
here  winning  the  title  of  "  the  hero  of  Louisburg." 
But  the  great  exploit  of  the  war  was  the  capture  of 
Quebec.  Wolfe  was  sent  in  1759  against  the  city 
with  only  eight  thousand  men.  Quebec  stands  on  a 


The  English  Conquest  of  Canada.  205 

steep  rock,  in  the  fork  of  the  rivers  St.  Lawrence  and 
St.  Charles,  and  was  one  of  the  strongest  places  in  the 


General  Wolfe's  Army  ascending 
the  Heights  of  Abraham. 


world.  General  Montcalm  came  with  an  army  to 
protect  it,  and  repulsed  Wolfe,  who  was  nearly  in 
despair,  when  he  was  told  of  a  steep  path,  leading  to 
the  Heights  of  Abraham  above  the  city.  He  sent  his 


206  Stories  of  American  History. 

troops  in  transports  up  the  river  St.  Lawrence  be- 
yond Quebec,  thus  deceiving  the  French ;  and  on  the 
night  of  September  12,  1759,  the  troops  descended 
the  river  in  boats,  drifting  with  the  current,  without 
sail  or  oar,  climbed  the  heights  to  the  plateau  called 
the  Plains  of  Abraham,  and  the  French  in  the  morn- 
ing beheld  an  army  above  them.  Montcalm,  whose 
camp  was  outside  of  the  city,  advanced  and  gave 
battle.  Each  general  received  a  death-wound.  As 
Wolfe,  mortally  wounded,  was  carried  to  the  rear,  he 
heard  the  cry,  "  They  run  ! "  "  Who  run  ?  "  he  asked. 
"  The  French,"  he  was  told.  "  God  be  praised  !  "  he 
said ;  "  I  die  happy."  Montcalm,  on  the  other  hand, 
said,  on  being  told  that  his  wound  was  mortal:  "So 
much  the  better.  I  shall  not  see  the  surrender  of 
Quebec."  The  famous  citadel  did  surrender,  without 
waiting  for  an  assault ;  and,  though  the  French  tried 
to  retake  it,  they  could  not,  and  the  next  year  had  to 
surrender  Montreal,  their  stronghold. 

The  English  fleet  was  very  strong  at  this  time,  and 
Lord  Rodney  took  St.  Lucie,  Tobago,  Guadeloupe, 
and  the  western  Caribbean  Islands,  as  well  as  Marti- 
nique, the  strongest  of  all.  Spain  was,  in  1761,  drawn 
into  the  war,  as  an  ally  of  France,  partly  by  a  Bourbon 
family  compact,  partly  by  disputes  with  England  about 
the  Spanish  Central  American  colonies.  England  made 


The  English  Conquest  of  Canada.          207 

war  upon  Spain  as  an  ally  of  her  enemy  France.  Ad- 
miral Kepple  captured  the  great  city  of  Havana,  the 
capital  of  Cuba.  Treasure-ships  were  taken,  as  in  the 
days  of  Elizabeth.  Peace  was  reached  in  1 763,  by  the 
Treaty  of  Fontainebleau. 


CHAP.   XXV.—  EXPULSION    OF  THE  JESU- 
ITS  FROM    SOUTH    AMERICA. 


/  I  \HE  Portuguese  had  always  been  the  allies  of 
J-  England  ;  and  Brazil  and  all  that  depended  on 
it  took  part  against  Spain.  But  in  the  year  1  750  a 
treaty  was  made  between  Spain  and  Portugal,  which 
traced  out  the  boundaries  of  their  American  posses- 
sions, and  defined  the  borders  of  Brazil. 

The  river  Uruguay  became  part  of  the  boundary- 
line,  and  all  settlements  which  had  been  made  to  the 
eastward,  or  Portuguese  side,  by  grants  from  Spain, 
were  to  be  broken  up.  All  movable  goods  might  be 
taken  away,  but  all  the  houses,  churches,  and  lands 
were  to  be  given  up,  and  the  people  themselves  to 
remove  to  the  Spanish  possessions.  It  was  like  the 
removal  of  the  French  settlers  of  Acadie.  The  kings 
and  their  ministers,  who  sat  at  home,  and  looked  at 
their  maps,  had  no  notion  of  the  cruelty  of  their  orders 


Expulsion  of  Jesuits  from  South  America.     209 

to  all  these  living  beings  ;  for  on  the  Uruguay  were 
seven  flourishing  Jesuit  settlements,  where  thirty 
thousand  Guarani  Indians  were  living,  as  their  fathers 
and  grandfathers  had  lived  before  them,  as  farmers 
and  planters — a  peaceful,  civilized  Christian  life,  look- 
ing on  the  land  as  their  own,  which  it  was. 

The  Jesuits  sent  to  the  two  courts  all  sorts  of  repre- 
sentations of  the  misery  that  would  be  inflicted  ;  but 
the  Marquis  of  Valdelirios,  who  had  been  sent  out 
to  see  the  treaty  enforced,  allowed  no  delay.  The 
Jesuits  were  accused  of  having  done  much  harm  in 
Europe  by  their  perpetual  interference  on  behalf  of 
the  Pope ;  and  though  here  on  the  Uruguay  they 
were  quite  in  the  right,  and  were  defenders  of  the  weak, 
they  suffered  for  the  dislike  their  order  had  excited. 
Because  they  had  tried  to  obtain  from  the  governors  a 
delay  long  enough  for  tidings  from  home  of  the  result 
of  their  appeal,  the  Bishop  of  Buenos  Ayres  forbade 
them  to  administer  the  sacraments  ;  and  because  they 
tried  to  induce  their  poor  natives  to  submit  patiently 
to  what  could  not  be  prevented,  they  were  accused  of 
having  sold  their  settlements  to  the  Spaniards,  and 
were  treated  like  prisoners  even  by  the  Guaranis. 

The  Jesuits  knew  that  resistance  would  be  of  no  use, 
and  that  the  Guaranis  were  not  fit  to  fight,  having  lost 
all  the  spirit  and  dash  of  their  wild  forefathers.  But 
14 


2io  Stories  of  American  History. 

there  was  no  hindering  them  from  taking  up  arms  to 
defend  their  homes,  and  this  put  an  end  to  all  hopes  of 
mercy  for  them.  The  Spanish  and  Portuguese  armies 
joined  together  and  routed  the  gatherings  of  these 
poor  people,  killing  some,  plundering  the  rest,  and 
absolutely  driving  them  out,  to  revert  again  to  the 
savage  life  from  which  their  ancestors  had  been  re- 
claimed. The  Jesuits  were  accused  of  having  incited 
them  to  rebel,  and  even  of  having  taught  them  cruel- 
ty to  the  wounded.  But  this  was  disproved  by  the 
evidence  of  the  Guaranis  themselves,  who  declared 
that  the  Fathers  had  never  taught  them  anything  but 
to  submit,  and  they  would  not  have  rebelled  had 
time  been  given  them  to  remove  their  property  and 
cattle.  In  a  few  years  more,  the  courts  agreed  to 
change  again  the  boundary-line,  the  Guaranis  returned 
to  their  homes,  and  the  mission  work  began  again, 
though  some  of  the  younger  and  stronger  men,  having 
once  tasted  the  delights  of  savage  liberty,  could  not  be 
brought  back. 

At  home,  however,  feeling  had  set  strongly  against 
the  Jesuits.  They  had  done  much  harm  as  well  as 
much  good,  and,  alike  for  the  evil  as  for  the  good,  the 
Roman  Catholic  kings  and  their  ministers  were  de- 
termined to  put  them  down.  The  foremost  in  the  at- 
tack was  the  Marquis  of  Pombal,  the  Prime  Minister  of 


Expulsion  of  Jesuits  from  South  America.     211 

the  King  of  Portugal.  He  hated  all  monks  and  fri- 
ars, and  the  Jesuits  most  of  all,  and  he  seems  to  have 
honestly  thought  that  the  Indians  of  Uruguay,  Maran- 
ham,  and  Paraguay  were  kept  by  them  in  an  inferior 
state  ;  ignorant,  half-clothed,  and  working  to  enrich  the 
Order.  So  directions  were  sent  out  that  no  ecclesias- 
tic should  hold  any  Indians  under  his  power,  and  that 
the  Jesuit  mission  stations  should  be  made  into  towns, 
with  magistrates  like  those  of  Portugal  and  Spain. 
Pombal  had  never  seen,  and  therefore  could  not  under- 
stand, the  state  of  things,  and  that  these  natives  really 
could  not  take  care  of  themselves  like  white  men,  and 
that  to  take  away  the  Fathers,  who  knew  how  to  deal 
with  them,  was  to  give  them  up  to  ruin  and  savagery. 
He  drew  up  long  instructions  to  directors,  who  were  to 
take  charge  of  them,  make  them  learn  industry,  teach 
them  to  speak  Portuguese,  and,  in  short,  to  make  them 
just  like  Europeans.  This  was  to  take  effect  from  the 
river  Amazon  down  to  the  river  Paraguay,  wherever 
the  Jesuit  Fathers  had  missions  and  settlements  of 
half-reclaimed  Indians. 

At  the  same  time,  the  Pope  was  entreated  to  send 
out  a  commission  to  inquire  into  the  conduct  of  the 
Order  in  South  America,  and  to  see  whether  they 
were  not  like  merchants,  soldiers,  and  little  kings  all 
along  these  borders  of  Brazil.  Just  as  the  inquiry 


212  Stories  of  American  History. 

had  begun  in  1758,  King  Joseph  was  shot  at  and 
wounded  in  the  streets  of  Lisbon,  in  his  carriage,  and 
a  plot  among  the  nobles  of  Portugal  was  discovered 
in  which  some  Jesuits  were  said  to  be  concerned. 
Probably  this  was  untrue,  but  they  suffered  for  the 
sins  of  their  predecessors.  Father  Juan  Mariana  had 
published  long  before,  in  1599,  a  treatise  in  which  it  is 
maintained  that  it  is  lawful  to  compass  the  death  of  a 
tyrant.  The  book  had  been  condemned  by  the  General 
of  the  Order,  but  it  drew  on  the  Jesuits  an  odium  of 
which  their  enemies  were  not  slow  to  take  advantage. 
The  Order  was  suppressed  in  Portugal,  and  in  its 
American  possessions.  Every  Jesuit  was  sought  out ; 
they  were  brought  together  and  shipped  off — one 
hundred  and  sixty-eight  from  Bahia,  and  one  hundred 
and  forty-five  from  Rio.  The  sick  were  taken  from 
their  beds,  they  were  stripped  of  all  their  books  and 
papers,  and  kept  between  decks  like  Negroes  in  a 
slaver,  till  the  ship's  doctor  declared  they  would  all 
die,  and  that  the  fever  would  spread  to  the  crew. 
Some  were  kept  in  prison  in  Lisbon  for  eighteen 
years,  till  Pombal's  death ;  the  others  were  turned 
adrift  in  the  Pope's  dominions. 

Misfortunes  oppressed  them.  In  Martinique  a 
great  bank  which  had  been  established  under  their 
management  for  the  convenience  of  the  commerce  of 


Expulsion  of  Jesuits  from  South  America.     213 

their  settlements  failed,  and  many  persons  were  ruined. 
The  Order  were  sentenced  to  make  good  the  losses. 
A  madman  tried  to  stab  Louis  XV  of  France,  and 
this,  too,  was  suppposed  to  have  been  contrived  by 
them,  so  that  the  French  king  also  turned  against 
them. 

In  Spain  a  popular  tumult  frightened  the  king, 
Charles  III,  into  supposing  the  Jesuits  were  concerned 
in  it,  and  he  followed  the  example  of  his  neighbors  in 
expelling  them  from  all  his  dominions ;  from  Mexico, 
Peru,  Chili,  and  the  isles  wherever  he  had  possessions, 
these  missionary  priests  were  driven  out,  with  not  quite 
so  much  violence  and  cruelty  as  by  the  Portuguese,  but 
to  the  bitter  grief  of  the  poor  natives,  whose  best 
friends  and  guides  they  had  been.  They  counseled 
submission,  and  did  all  they  could  to  help  them  for  the 
future ;  but  in  the  year  1 773  the  Pope  was  persuaded 
to  suppress  the  Order  altogether. 

There  were  plans  for  educating  and  civilizing  the 
Indians  without  the  aid  of  the  Jesuits,  but  no  one 
would  take  the  trouble  to  see  these  provisions  properly 
carried  out,  and  the  Indians  were  not  willing  to  obey 
the  new-comers.  So  the  natives  fell  back  gradually 
into  savage  life,  and  the  garden-like  lands  they  had 
cultivated  fell  back  into  wildernesses.  The  clergy, 


214 


Stories  of  American  History. 


being  very  little  looked  after  by  the  European  church, 
grew  more  and  more  sluggish,  selfish,  and  vicious ; 
the  settlers  more  lawless  and  indolent,  mingling  with 
their  religion  gross  superstition.  In  Spanish  South 
America,  in  particular,  every  kind  of  evil  habit  pre- 
vailed ;  and  though  the  towns  had  wealthy  and  civil- 
ized inhabitants,  the  country  around  became  full  of 
wild,  fierce,  ruffianly  riders,  whose  chief  business  was 
to  pursue,  catch  with  lassos,  and  kill  cattle,  great  herds 
of  which  roamed  at  large. 


CHAP.   XXVI.  — THE   THIRTEEN 
COLONIES. 

1762 — 1766. 

/TV HE  peace  which  was  signed  at  Fontainebleau  in 
-L  1763,  between  England,  France,  and  Spain,  left 
the  northern  continent  of  America  in  a  very  different 
state  from  that  in  which  it  had  been  at  the  beginning 
of  the  war.  All  the  French  possessions  east  of  the 
Mississippi  were  given  up  to  England,  except  the  city 
and  vicinity  of  New  Orleans,  which  were  assigned  to 
Spain  ;  all  Canada  and  Acadia ;  and  nothing  was  left 
to  France  but  the  right  to  fish  on  the  shores  of  New- 
foundland and  in  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence,  with  the 
little  islets,  St.  Pierre  and  Miquelon,  to  shelter  the 
ships ;  but  no  more  than  fifty  soldiers  were  ever  to  be 
on  them,  and  there  were  to  be  no  fortifications.  The 
French  Canadians  were  to  be  left  free  to  live  as  Roman 
Catholics  under  English  laws ;  but  no  fishing-vessel  or 
other  from  France  was  to  come  within  fifteen  leagues 


216  Stories  of  American  History. 

of  the  shores  of  Cape  Breton.  In  the  West  Indiss, 
France  gave  up  the  Isles  of  Tobago,  Dominica,  St. 
Vincent,  and  Grenada ;  but  the  English  gave  her  back 
Martinique,  Guadeloupe,  Marie  Galante,  and  Desirade. 

To  Spain  was  conceded,  under  the  treaty,  all  Louisi- 
ana west  of  the  Mississippi,  with  an  indefinite  boundary 
to  the  north ;  and  she  had  New  Orleans,  as  already 
noted,  which  is  on  the  east  bank  of  the  Mississippi. 
She  gave  up  Florida  to  the  English,  in  exchange  for 
Cuba,  which  was  restored  to  her.  She  gave  up  the 
right  to  fish  for  cod  off  Newfoundland ;  and  she  gave 
to  the  English  permission  to  land  in  the  Bay  of  Hon- 
duras, to  cut  mahogany  and  log-wood,  and  to  build 
houses,  warehouses,  and  quays,  as  long  as  they  built  no 
forts.  This  peace  put  an  end  to  the  last  remains  of 
buccaneering  in  the  West  Indies,  and  established  the 
bounds  of  the  national  languages  there. 

The  English  had  still  to  fight  with  the  Indian  allies 
of  the  French.  The  Indians  were  much  attached  to 
those  bright,  kindly  men,  and  were  told  by  the  Cana- 
dians that  the  King  of  France  was  only  dead  for  a 
while,  but  would  come  again.  Pontiac,  the  chief  of  the 
Ottawas,  who  is  said  to  have  led  that  tribe  in  the  battle 
in  which  Braddock  fell  on  the  Monongahela,  declared, 
"  I  am  a  Frenchman,  and  will  die  a  Frenchman."  He 
sent  messengers  through  the  tribes,  offering  them  the 


The   Thirteen  Colonies.  217 

tokens  of  war — a  belt  of  red  and  black  shell-beads, 
called  "  wampum,"  and  a  tomahawk.  All  accepted 
them,  and  it  was  agreed  to  unite  and  drive  the  English 
from  the  Ohio,  and  the  country  along  the  lakes.  Very 
cunning  was  Pontiac.  He  tried  to  surprise  the  post  of 
Detroit,  on  the  strait  between  Lakes  Huron  and  Erie, 
by  gaining  admission  to  show  an  Indian  dance,  with 
thirty  or  forty  of  his  warriors,  who  had  tomahawks 
hidden  under  their  blankets.  A  woman,  however,  gave 
warning  in  time,  and  when  the  dancers  were  admitted, 
they  found  the  soldiers  under  arms.  At  another  fort, 
some  hundred  Ottawas  played  at  ball  outside  the  walls, 
till  the  soldiers  came  out  to  watch  them.  Then  the 
ball  was  flung  close  to  the  gate,  and  as  the  Indians 
rushed  after  it,  each  squaw  handed  her  husband  his 
hatchet,  and  he  fell  upon  his  man.  Only  twenty  soldiers 
escaped.  In  the  Ohio  Valley  every  fort  except  Pitts- 
burg  was  taken ;  more  than  one  hundred  traders  were 
killed  and  scalped.  The  Indians  massacred  women  and 
children  ;  and  five  hundred  English  families  were  forced 
to  wander  in  the  woods.  Pittsburg  and  Detroit  held 
out  through  this  fearful  five  months,  though  Detroit 
was  subjected  to  a  new  thing  in  Indian  warfare — a 
regular  investment  and  siege.  Relief  for  the  English 
arrived,  and  as  winter  approached  at  length  Pontiac 
could  no  longer  keep  his  wild  warriors  together.  The 


218  Stories  of  American  History. 

French  behaved  admirably  through  the  difficulty.  The 
Indians  spared  their  traders,  and  the  French,  whether 
official  or  private,  took  no  part,  except  to  shield  and 
protect  prisoners,  and  to  use  their  influence  to  explain 
the  treaty,  and  persuade  the  Indians  to  submit.  One 
of  the  French  officers,  almost  the  last  to  leave  his  post, 
sent  belts  and  messages  and  pipes  of  peace  to  all  the 
tribes,  telling  them  to  bury  the  hatchet  and  make 
friends  with  the  English,  for  they  would  never  see  him 
more.  Pontiac  said  he  accepted  the  peace  which  his 
French  father  had  sent  him,  and  submitted.  He  was 
killed  a  year  or  two  later,  while  in  a  fit  of  intoxication, 
by  an  Illinois  Indian. 

The  colonies  which  had  gone  through  this  war  called 
themselves  the  "  Old  Thirteen."  They  were :  New 
Hampshire,  Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island,  Connecticut, 
New  York,  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  Maryland,  Dela- 
ware, Virginia,  North  and  South  Carolina,  and  Georgia. 
The  first  four  of  the  colonies,  with  the  District  of  Maine, 
belonging  to  Massachusetts,  made  up  New  England. 
James  II  attempted  to  consolidate  all  the  colonies 
north  of  the  Delaware;  and  in  1686  Sir  Edmund  An- 
dros  appeared  in  Boston  as  Governor  of  all  New  Eng- 
land, including  New  York,  and  New  Jersey  as  an  ap- 
panage of  New  York.  After  the  accession  of  William 
and  Mary,  the  consolidation  was  no  more  heard  of; 


The   Thirteen  Colonies.  219 

and,  in  the  popular  language  of  the  United  States,  New 
York  is  not  included  in  New  England.  Maine  is  now 
a  State,  and  with  Vermont,  carved  out  of  the  rival 
claims  of  New  York  and  New  Hampshire,  makes  up 
the  six  New  England  States.  The  inhabitants  of  this 
territory  were  chiefly  English,  and  about  this  time  be- 
gan to  be  called  by  the  nickname  of  Yankee,  which  is 
either  the  Dutch  Yankin,  the  contraction  of  John,  or 
else  the  Indian  form  of  the  word  English.  In  America 
the  term  is  applied  to  New-Englanders  only,  though 
in  England  it  is  used  for  citizens  of  all  the  States. 
Probably  the  Indians  use  the  same  designation ;  for  an 
Indian  chief  a  few  years  since,  who  was  conducted  over 
the  ships  and  forts  to  reconcile  him  to  submission,  was 
overheard,  in  his  broken  English,  to  curse  the  "  Yan- 
gheese."  The  New-Englanders  were  mainly  Independ- 
ents or  Congregationalists,  and  had  built  for  themselves 
solid  churches  and  schools.  They  had  a  university  at 
Cambridge,  near  Boston.  Yale  College,  in  Connecticut, 
was  founded  in  1701  ;  and  among  its  early  patrons  was 
Berkeley,  afterward  Bishop  of  Cloyne.  The  New- 
Englanders  were  a  hardy  race,  and  had  many  thought- 
ful, resolute  men  among  them.  They  had  strict  laws 
and  observances,  dreading  such  amusements  as  theatres, 
races,  and  balls ;  and  they  led  a  hearty,  wholesome 
country  life,  though  laborious ;  their  wives  and  daugh- 


22O  Stories  of  American  History. 

ters  working  at  all  farmhouse  ajts  and  domestic  manu- 
factures. The  nature  of  their  land  taught  them  the 
thrifty  habits  for  which  Yankees  are  proverbial.  New 
Jersey,  though  settled  in  part  by  "  Friends  "  or  Quakers, 
had  a  strong  New  England  character  given  to  it  by 
emigration.  Princeton  College  was  founded  by  Pres- 
byterians in  1746. 

Emigration  is  apt  to  run  on  lines  of  latitude.  The 
upper  part  of  New  York  received  thus  a  somewhat 
Yankee  tinge ;  but  the  Dutch  element,  from  the  be- 
ginning of  the  settlement,  kept  its  hold,  and  modified 
New  England  Puritanism.  The  Patroon  system  and 
the  better  soil  gave  New  York  farmers  larger  holdings, 
and  their  handsome  country  houses  and  farms  em- 
ployed a  limited  number  of  negro  slaves,  who,  of  course, 
led  easier  lives  than  on  a  Spanish  repartimiento.  Slav- 
ery existed,  indeed,  in  all  the  colonies,  though  rather 
tolerated  than  encouraged  in  the  northern  settlements. 
The  New  York  settlers  never  were  so  rigid  in  their 
mode  of  life  as  their  neighbors.  They  were  Protestant, 
the  Dutch  Church  and  its  kindred  Presbyterian  bodies 
having  early  possession  of  the  ground  ;  but  the  Estab- 
lished Church  of  England  had  an  early  footing.  Dutch 
manners  prevailed,  and  the  families,  especially  in  Al- 
bany, made  the  broad  door-step  of  the  house — stoop, 
they  called  it — a  reception-room  in  the  evening  and  a 


The   Thirteen  Colonies. 


221 


sitting-place  for  the  family,  as  they  used  to  do  in  Ham- 
burg.     On   New-Year's   day  the    ladies    received    all 


Scenes  in  Albany. 

their  male  acquaintances ;  and  the  custom  still  lingers, 
though  it  is  becoming  evident  that  village  fashions  are 
inconvenient  in  great  cities. 

Most  of  the  colonists  had  fought  with  the  French 
and  Indians,  and  they  rather  looked  down  upon  their 
neighbors  in  Pennsylvania,  who  had  hung  back. 
Pennsylvania  had  her  own  peculiar  embarrassments. 
She  had  a  proprietary  interest,  a  colonial,  and  a  British 


222  Stories  of  American  History. 

contending  with  each  other,  and  the  peace  doctrines 
of  her  founder  were  in  the  way  of  military  measures. 
Benjamin  Franklin,  Boston  born,  but  Philadelphian  by 
adoption,  printer,  philosopher,  man  of  science,  and  poli- 
tician, was  active  always  in  public  matters.  It  is  said 
that  he  procured  the  passage  of  a  bill  through  the 
Assembly  for  the  purchase  of  grain  and  hollow  ware — 
the  grain  being  gunpowder,  and  the  hollow  ware  guns. 
The  frontier  settlements  of  the  province  had  received 
large  accessions  of  settlers  other  than  Quakers,  and 
these  settlers,  organized  into  military  companies,  gave 
the  first  repulse  to  the  savage  foe  in  the  Pontiac  war 
In  that  war  Pennsylvania  was  among  the  chief  suffer- 
ers, but  the  benevolence  of  the  Friends,  who  would 
not  aid  war,  but  who  would  relieve  its  victims,  restored 
comfort  and  prosperity. 

The  Virginians  were  more  like  country  squires, 
living  on  their  estates,  except  that  instead  of  tenantry 
they  had  swarms  of  Negroes,  who  worked  their  planta- 
tions of  tobacco  and  were  their  household  servants ; 
though  they  were  not  quite  so  plentiful  as  in  the  Caro- 
linas,  where  black  men  were  much  more  numerous 
than  white.  Among  the  whites  in  the  last  two  colonies 
there  was  an  admixture  of  French  Huguenot  families. 
The  Virginians,  among  whom  Washington  was  con- 
spicuous, had  borne  themselves  bravely  in  the  French 


The   Thirteen  Colonies.  223 

and  Indian  wars,  and  all  felt  that  they  deserved  honor 
from  the  mother-country.  However,  there  was  a  fool- 
ish, narrow  jealousy  in  the  policy  of  those  times,  and 
there  was  a  fear  of  the  colonies  getting  too  strong  and 
powerful  and  taking  away  the  English  trade.  And 
far-seeing  statesmen  began  to  fear  that  the  peace  of 
1 763,  by  relieving  the  colonies  from  the  outside  press- 
ure of  colonial  and  Indian  wars,  would  increase  the 
difficulty  of  governing  them  according  to  the  narrow 
colonial  policy. 

The  adherents  of  the  Church  of  England,  who  were 
numerous  in  the  Southern  colonies,  begged  for  an 
English  bishop.  They  were  refused,  because  it  was 
then  supposed  that  a  bishop  must  be  a  wealthy,  power- 
ful man,  a  member  of  the  House  of  Lords,  and  this 
England  thought  impolitic.  So  the  American  parishes 
were  held  by  clergymen  ordained  at  home  and  invited 
out  to  the  colonies.  No  one  could  be  confirmed,  and 
no  church  consecrated.  It  is  curious  that  money  was 
so  scarce  that  these  clergy  were  paid  in  tobacco  to 
export,  instead  of  coin. 

There  were  plans  for  uniting  all  the  colonies  under 
the  same  government  At  a  Congress  of  Commis- 
sioners appointed  by  the  British  Board  of  Trade  to 
treat  with  the  Indians  in  1754,  Franklin  was  present 
as  one  of  the  deputation  from  Pennsylvania.  He 


224  Stories  of  American  History. 

introduced  a  plan  for  a  President-General,  to  be  ap- 
pointed by  the  crown  with  executive  power,  and  a 
council,  chosen  by  the  Colonial  Legislatures.  Here  was 
the  germ  of  the  future  Constitution  of  the  United 
States.  But  the  project  was  difficult.  The  constitu- 
tions and  laws  of  the  provinces,  not  being  alike,  were 
hard  to  reconcile,  and  there  was  an  opposition  made 
at  home  lest,  by  becoming  one,  the  colonies  should 
become  too  strong.  The  proposition  was  too  demo- 
cratic for  the  crown,  and  had  too  much  royal  preroga- 
tive for  the  colonies.  Another  misfortune  was  that, 
each  government  being  small,  it  was  too  often  given 
to  some  poor  hanger-on  at  court  at  home ;  and  these 
governors,  not  always  being  men  of  honesty,  ability, 
or  good  sense,  misrepresented  the  Americans  to  the 
English,  and  the  English  to  the  Americans.  Still,  the 
colonists  loved  the  old  home,  drank  the  health  of  King 
George  with  all  their  might,  and  were  ready  to  fight 
to  the  death  against  any  foreign  enemy. 

The  war  had  been  very  costly,  and,  as  it  was  in  their 
defense,  the  Home  Government  felt  it  just  that  the 
cost  should  be  partly  borne  by  the  colonists,  who  had 
never  been  laid  under  any  system  of  imperial  taxation, 
though  they  made  grants  to  the  royal  exchequer  from 
loans  and  taxes  raised  by  their  own  Assemblies.  The 
law  in  England  had  long  been  that  wills,  deeds,  and 


The   Thirteen  Colonies.  225 

receipts  should  always  have  a  government  stamp  to 
make  them  valid ;  and  in  1 765  it  was  decided  in  Parlia- 
ment to  extend  this  Stamp  Act  to  the  colonies.  But, 
in  the  days  of  Edward  I,  the  Commons  of  England 
had  established  their  claim  to  have  no  tax  laid  on  them 
unless  their  representatives  consented  to  it  in  Parlia- 
ment ;  and  the  colonies  in  America  considered  that 
unless  they  were  allowed  to  send  members  to  Parlia- 
ment they  ought  not  to  be  taxed.  They  resisted  so 
resolutely  that  the  Stamp  Act  was  the  next  year 
repealed,  but  the  main  question  was  left  undecided. 


-- 


CHAP.   XXVIL—  THE   AMERICAN 
REVOLUTION. 


1765—1776. 

HE  bill  repealing  the  Stamp  Act  was  accompanied 
by  another  affirming  the  authority  of  Parliament 
over  the  colonies  in  all  cases  whatsoever,  and  declaring 
the  opposite  resolutions  of  the  Colonial  Assemblies 
to  be  null  and  void.  So  the  repeal  settled  nothing. 
The  question  between  England  and  the  colonies  was 
still  left  open.  The  Stamp  Act  had  brought  the  dis- 
cussion of  these  difficulties  to  a  point.  It  had  given 
official  force  and  expression  to  the  claim  that  the 
colonists,  as  Englishmen,  ought  not  to  contribute  to 
the  revenue  without  their  own  consent,  any  more  than 
their  kindred  at  home  who  sent  members  to  the  House 
of  Commons.  And  it  had  produced  a  Parliamentary 
denial  of  that  claim,  but  disbursed  in  the  form  of 
crown  patronage.  By  the  laws  of  trade,  the  Thirteen 
Colonies  were  cut  off  from  all  the  world  but  England. 


The  American  Revolution. 


227 


Even  trade  with  the  British  Islands  was  subjected  to 
duties   which   were    almost   prohibitory.     Industry  in 


Patrick  Henry  before 
the  Virginia  Assembly. 


the  colonies  was  repressed  for 
the  advantage  of  English  man- 
ufactures. Under  such  a  sys- 
tem the  colonists  were  under 
a  much  more  despotic  author- 
ity than  if  they  had  staid  at  home. 

It  was  felt  that  the  time  had  come  for  making  a 


228  Stories  of  American  History. 

stand,  and  Virginia  took  the  lead.  In  the  Assembly 
of  that  colony  a  young  man  named  Patrick  Henry 
brought  forward  a  series  of  resolutions  affirming  the 
rights  of  the  colonists  as  Englishmen.  In  the  course 
of  the  exciting  debate  Henry  said,  "  Caesar  had  his 
Brutus,  Charles  the  First  his  Cromwell,  and  George 
the  Third — "  Cries  of  "Treason!"  interrupted  him, 
and  he  ended  with,  " — may  profit  by  their  example." 
It  was  voted  that  taxation  could  only  be  fixed  by  the 
General  Assembly  of  a  colony.  The  Assembly  of 
Massachusetts,  approving  this  principle  (as  indeed  did 
all  the  colonies),  invited  their  representatives  to  as- 
semble and  unite  in  remonstrances.  Nine  sent  depu- 
ties to  the  Congress  which  met  in  New  York,  two 
though  not  present  assented,  and  thus  eleven  colonies 
agreed  in  drawing  up  a  "  Declaration  of  Rights  "  and 
a  Petition.  These  were  sent,  the  Petition  to  the  King, 
and  the  Declaration  to  the  Parliament,  in  October, 
1765.  Some  of  the  greatest  statesmen,  such  as 
William  Pitt,  afterward  Lord  Chatham,  thought  the 
Americans  in  the  right,  and,  if  their  counsel  had  been 
followed,  means  might  have  been  found  of  keeping  the 
colonies  free,  yet  still  loyal  to  the  crown.  But  there 
were  other  advisers  who  believed  the  honor  of  the 
crown  concerned  to  put  down  all  resistance.  The 
result  was  the  repeal  of  the  Stamp  Act,  but  with  the 


The  American  Revolution.  229 

aggravating  accompaniment  which  left  the  questions 
of  taxation,  of  the  army,  of  appointments  to  office,  and 
the  laws  of  trade  still  open.  In  the  mean  time  further 
provocation  was  given. 

Boston  was  the  foremost  American  town  in  showing 
discontent  with  the  Government.  "  Liberty-poles " 
were  set  up,  and  frequent  occasions  taken  for  exhibit- 
ing the  spirit  of  resistance.  The  quartering  of  British 
regular  troops  in  the  colonies  was  everywhere  protested 
against ;  and  in  Boston  there  were  perpetual  quarrels 
between  the  people  and  the  soldiers,  whom  the  mob 
called  "  lobsters  "  and  "  bloody-backs."  These  en- 
counters were  with  clubs  and  stones,  the  soldiers  not 
carrying  arms  when  not  on  duty.  One  of  these  dis- 
turbances resulted  in  the  affair  popularly  called  the 
"  Boston  Massacre."  For  two  days  there  had  been 
rioting  between  parties  of  soldiers  and  the  laborers  in 
a  rope-walk.  On  the  evening  of  the  second  day  a 
sentinel  was  assaulted  while  on  duty.  Six  men  and 
a  sergeant  were  ordered  for  his  protection,  and  the 
captain  of  the  company  followed — in  all,  seven  men. 
The  crowd,  presuming  on  the  English  law  that  no 
soldier  may  fire  upon  a  crowd  except  under  orders 
from  a  civil  magistrate,  pressed  upon  the  soldiers, 
assailing  them  with  taunts  and  missiles.  Somebody 
gave  the  command  "  Fire ! "  and  a  volley  was  dis- 


230  Stories  of  American  History. 

charged,  killing  three  men  and  wounding  five. 
Warrants  were  instantly  issued  by  justices  of  the 
town — the  soldiers  were  arrested  and  committed  for 
trial.  The  citizens  demanded  in  town-meeting  that 
the  garrison  should  be  withdrawn,  which  was  acceded 
to,  and  it  was  removed  to  Castle  Island.  The  seven 
soldiers  were  tried,  and  all  acquitted  except  two,  who 
received  slight  punishment  for  "  manslaughter."  John 
Adams  and  Josiah  Quincy,  both  names  of  note,  and 
among  the  most  zealous  of  popular  leaders,  were 
assigned  as  their  counsel,  and  did  their  duty  for  their 
clients.  Of  course  this  "  massacre  "  was  made  much  of, 
and  added  to  the  excitement  of  discontent.  While 
the  soldiers  as  individuals  were  exonerated,  the  Gov- 
ernment was  held  accountable. 

Over  the  whole  country  the  use  of  the  taxed  im- 
ported articles  was  given  up.  The  ladies  took  to 
spinning  and  weaving,  and  said  they  would  wear 
sheep-skins  rather  than  buy  their  goods  of  people  who 
insulted  them.  Non-importation  agreements  were 
entered  into,  and  merchants  who  declined  to  join  the 
agreement  were  placarded  as  objects  of  public  scorn. 
College  boys  graduated  in  homespun.  This  universal 
resistance  produced  its  effect.  The  obnoxious  taxes 
were  removed  on  everything  except  tea.  Commercial 
intercourse  was  resumed,  though  tea  was  still  contra- 


The  American  Revolution. 


231 


band  with  the  republicans.  The  duty  on  this  was 
continued,  as  the  Stamp  Act  repeal  was  loaded  with  an 
obnoxious  rider,  to  assert  the  principle  against  which 
the  colonists  contended,  the  right  of  Parliament  to  tax 
the  unrepresented  colonies.  To  meet  the  non-impor- 
tation agreement,  a  drawback  or  remission  in  Eng- 
land of  all  duties  was  granted  to  the  East  India  Com- 
pany on  all  teas  which  they  would  send  to  the  colonies 
to  pay  duty  there.  Consignees  were  appointed  to  re- 


Throwing  over  the  Tea  in  Boston  Harbor. 

ceive  and  dispose  of  the  cargoes.     Philadelphia  led  the 
way  in  protesting.     Boston  followed,  and  added  action 


232  Stories  of  American  History. 

to  her  protest.  Three  tea-ships  arriving  at  that  port, 
public  meetings  were  held,  and  the  popular  leaders 
harangued  the  people.  The  immediate  sending  away 
of  the  tea  was  demanded.  The  consignees  not  being 
able  to  comply,  the  ships  were  boarded  at  night  by 
men  dressed  up  as  Mohawk  Indians,  and  the  chests 
of  tea  thrown  or  emptied  into  the  water.  The  harbor 
was  said  to  have  become  one  great  teapot,  for  what 
was  called  the  Boston  Tea  Party.  At  other  ports 
the  cargoes  of  tea  were  sent  back  to  England  or  de- 
stroyed. 

In  much  indignation  the  Home  Government  ap- 
pointed General  Thomas  Gage  commander  of  the 
forces  in  America,  and  commissioned  him  also  as 
Governor  of  Massachusetts,  thus  giving  him  in  his 
double  capacity  the  legal  right  to  fire  upon  the  people, 
and  additional  troops  were  ordered  out  to  support  him. 
The  port  of  Boston  was  closed  by  Act  of  Parliament 
till  the  tea  should  be  paid  for,  which,  by-the-way,  was 
never  done.  The  port  was  effectually  blockaded ;  no 
vessels  could  come  in  and  none  go  out ;  none  which 
were  building  could  be  launched  from  the  stocks. 
Even  water-carriage  between  wharf  and  wharf  was  for- 
bidden ;  the  ferry  service  across  the  Charles  River  was 
stopped,  so  that  from  Salem,  the  nearest  port,  goods 
could  not  be  obtained.  The  town  of  Boston  was  re- 


The  American  Revolution.  233 

duced  to  the  last  extremity,  and  all  industries  were  par- 
alyzed. The  colonies  vied  with  one  another  in  liberal- 
ity ;  but  all  supplies  which  came  by  sea  had  to  be 
landed  at  Marblehead,  thirteen  miles  distant  from  Bos- 
ton by  water,  thirty  miles  by  the  circuitous  land  route. 
British  troops  were  as  of  old  a  continual  provocation 
in  a  city,  the  very  boys  of  which  were  rebels.  General 
Gage  adjourned  the  Legislature  to  Salem,  which  was 
declared  the  seat  of  government.  The  Salem  people, 
like  those  of  other  towns,  declared  they  would  not 
profit  by  Boston's  misfortune.  The  first  thing  the 
Legislature  did  in  June,  1 774,  was  to  make  such  a  reply 
to  the  Governor's  message  that  he  refused  to  hear  it 
through.  The  next  was  to  recommend  a  General 
Congress  to  meet  in  Philadelphia  in  September,  and 
resolutions  were  also  passed  recommending  entire  dis- 
continuance of  the  use  of  British  goods,  and  all  articles 
subject  to  Parliamentary  duty.  General  Gage,  finding 
what  was  going  on,  sent  his  secretary  to  dissolve  the 
Assembly.  But  Samuel  Adams — whom  with  John 
Hancock,  Joseph  Warren,  and  others,  Gage  was  in- 
structed to  seize  as  rebels — had  locked  the  door  of  the 
hall,  and  the  secretary  read  the  Governor's  proclama- 
tion on  the  steps  outside.  This  was  the  last  session 
of  the  Legislature  or  General  Court  of  Massachusetts 
under  British  rule.  Henceforth  the  people  acted  for 


234  Stories  of  American  History. 

themselves,  as  did  also  the  other  colonies.  The  prop- 
osition for  a  Continental  Congress,  which  met  as  Mas- 
sachusetts appointed,  had  already  been  proposed  in 
New  York,  and  seconded  in  other  places. 

The  colonists  were  determined  to  fight  it  out.  A 
year  of  troublous  time  passed  without  any  serious 
encounter.  Boston  held  fast,  and  had  the  sympathy 
of  all  the  colonies.  But  in  the  spring  of  1775  General 
Gage,  having  discovered  that  military  stores  were 
deposited  at  Concord  in  Massachusetts,  sent  a  force 
of  eight  hundred  men  to  destroy  them.  The  expedi- 
tion left  Boston  at  midnight  on  the  i8th,  and  was 
intended  to  be  secret.  But  the  watchful  colonists 
detected  the  movement,  and  dispatched  messengers  to 
alarm  the  country-side.  Among  these  messengers 
was  an  ardent,  popular  leader  named  Revere.  "  Paul 
Revere's  Ride  "  is  the  subject  of  a  vigorous  poem"  by 
Longfellow.  At  Lexington  the  British  found  sixty  or 
seventy  men  drawn  up  on  the  village  green.  They 
were  ordered  to  disperse,  and  hesitating,  were  fired 
upon.  Eight  of  these  militia-men  were  killed,  and 
several  wounded.  They  were  dispersed,  and  the 
British  moved  on  toward  Concord.  Meanwhile  the 
news  had  sped,  and  on  their  arrival  they  found  the 
greater  part  of  the  stores  removed.  Two  cannon 
were  found  and  spiked,  sixty  barrels  of  flour  were 


The  American  Revolution. 


235 


stove,  and  a  few  hundred  pounds  of  shot  thrown  into 
a  mill-pond.     A  bonfire  was  made  of  the  liberty-pole 


The  Skirmish  at  Concord. 

and  some  gun-carriages.  A  skirmish  took  place 
between  the  militia  and  the  regulars,  in  which  two 
were  killed  and  some  wounded  on  each  side.  The 
regulars,  finding  the  country  roused,  retreated ;  but  the 
retreat  as  far  as  Lexington  was  rather  a  rout,  for  ene- 
mies beleaguered  them  on  all  sides.  At  Lexington 
they  found  about  a  thousand  troops  sent  out  to  re- 
enforce  them.  Even  thus  strengthened,  they  were  so 


236 


Stories  of  American  History- 


hunted  and  beset  all  the  way  back  that  they  lost,  in 
killed  and  wounded,  near  three  hundred  men.  The 
loss  of  the  colonists  was  ninety,  of  whom  half  were 
killed.  And  thus,  on  the  igth  of  April,  1775,  began 
the  "  War  of  Independence."  On  this  day  was  fired 
the  gun  which  "  echoed  round  the  world." 

The  Continental  Congress  had  become  a  perpetual 
body,  and  assumed  the  responsibility  of  enlisting  and 


Throwing  up  Intrenchments  on  Breed's  Hill. 

organizing  an  army,  and  appointing  a  commander-in- 
chief.      Meanwhile  General   Gage,  threatened  by  the 


The  American  Revolution.  237 

concourse  of  militia  gathered  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
town,  and  shutting  him  in,  decided  on  occupying  the 
eminences  which  commanded  the  town.  Bunker  Hill 
in  Charlestown,  near  Boston,  was  one  of  these ;  and 
the  Americans,  finding  this  out  in  time,  set  forth  to 
prevent  it.  On  the  morning  of  June  lyth,  the  British 
ships  in  Boston  Harbor  found  themselves  confronted 
with  earthworks  six  feet  high  on  Breed's  Hill.  That 
was  the  point  taken  and  fortified,  as  nearer  Boston. 
Twelve  or  fifteen  hundred  men,  under  Colonel  William 
Prescott,  had  thrown  up  the  works  during  the  night. 
The  ships  opened  a  fire  upon  the  works,  and  a  battery 
on  a  hill  in  Boston  played  upon  them.  The  Americans 
continued  the  labor  of  intrenching,  their  colonel  and 
other  officers  walking  on  the  battlements  amid  the  fire 
to  inspirit  the  soldiers.  At  one  o'clock  the  regulars 
landed  in  Charlestown,  and  undertook  to  march  up  the 
hill.  Twice  they  were  repulsed  with  fearful  slaughter. 
The  third  time  the  advance  was  made  with  less  show 
of  contempt  for  the  Americans  than  the  first,  and  with 
more  regard  to  military  tactics.  The  Americans  hav- 
ing exhausted  their  ammunition  were  forced  to  retreat. 
The  exact  time  from  the  first  discharge  of  the  musketry 
to  the  last  was  an  hour  and  a  half.  The  Americans 
lost,  in  killed,  wounded,  and  missing,  four  hundred  and 
fifty  men ;  the  British,  over  a  thousand.  The  Ameri- 


238  Stories  of  American  History. 

cans  withheld  their  fire  till  their  assailants  were  within 
destructive  range,  or,  as  it  was  said,  till  "  they  could  see 
the  whites  of  their  eyes."  The  Americans  lost  one  of 
their  most  promising  officers,  Joseph  Warren,  a  volun- 
teer just  appointed,  but  not  yet  commissioned.  On 
the  British  side,  seventy  commissioned  officers  were 
wounded  and  thirteen  killed,  for  they  distinguished 
themselves  by  their  courage  in  an  affair  which  cost 
General  Gage  his  military  reputation.  Charlestown 
was  burned  during  the  engagement ;  but  the  defeat  of 
the  Americans,  after  having  shown  so  much  courage, 
was  as  useful  as  a  victory  would  have  been. 

Franklin  wrote  to  his  English  friends,  "  England 
has  lost  her  colonies."  When  George  Washington 
heard  how  the  Americans  had  borne  themselves,  he 
said,  "  The  liberties  of  the  country  are  safe."  The  Con- 
tinental Congress  had  already  unanimously  elected  him 
commander-in-chief  of  the  army.  On  Monday,  the  3d 
of  July,  being  then  forty-three  years  old,  he  assumed 
the  command,  standing  under  a  great  tree  in  Cam- 
bridge, still  known  as  the  Washington  Elm.  His  men, 
though  stanch  and  brave,  were  undisciplined.  The  de- 
fense of  Breed's  Hill  had  been  rather  by  agreement  of 
purpose  than  by  discipline.  There  was  also  a  great 
want  of  powder,  and  a  great  need  of  tact  to  conceal  the 
deficiency,  to  reduce  volunteers  to  a  sense  of  obedience, 


The  American  Revolution.  239 

and  to  reconcile  jealousies.  Bunker  Hill  remained  in 
possession  of  the  British.  But  Dorchester  Heights, 
the  other  commanding  position,  was  still  unoccupied 
by  either;  till,  on  the  morning  of  the  4th  of  March, 
1776,  the  British  in  Boston  were  surprised  by  seeing 
the  heights  crowned  by  fortifications  thrown  up  in  a 
night.  The  city  could  not  be  held,  nor  could  ships  re- 
main in  the  harbor,  under  such  conditions.  The  idea 
of  an  attack  was  entertained,  but  abandoned ;  and  by 
an  informal  agreement  the  British  were  allowed  to 
evacuate  the  town  unmolested.  This  they  did  on  Sun- 
day the  1 7th.  About  twelve  hundred  persons  who 
held  to  their  old  allegiance  went  with  them.  In  many 
places  there  were  those  who  continued  loyal  to  the 
British  crown,  and  they  mostly  took  refuge  in  Nova 
Scotia,  whence  they  hoped  to  return  when  the  war  was 
over. 

Meanwhile,  in  the  Continental  Congress,  steps  had 
been  taken  which  showed  that  the  contest  was  no 
longer  a  struggle  about  taxation.  The  British  deter- 
mination was,  on  the  other  hand,  declared  to  be  to  sub- 
due the  rebellion  at  any  cost.  Congress,  in  February, 
passed  a  resolution  that  the  United  Colonies  had  a 
right  to  contract  alliances  with  foreign  powers,  and 
the  ports  were  declared  open  to  vessels  of  all  nations, 
Great  Britain  excepted,  thus  reversing  the  colonial 


240 


Stories  of  American  History, 


rule ;  it  was  declared  irreconcilable  with  reason  and 
good  conscience  for  the  people  of  the  colonies  to  take 
the  oath  of  fealty  to  the  British  crown,  and  necessary 
that  every  exercise  of  authority  under  that  crown 
should  be  suppressed ;  and  that  adherence  to  the  King 
of  Great  Britain  was  treason  against  the  colonies. 


Jefferson  reading  the  Declaration  of  Independence  in  Committee. 


Meanwhile,  a  resolution  that  the  colonies  were,  and  of 
right  ought  to  be,  free  and  independent, was  under  con- 


The  American  Revolution.  241 

sideration,  but  delayed  by  the  lingering  doubts  of  some 
of  the  members  as  to  the  propriety  of  a  step  so  positive, 
though  the  leading  spirits  had  come  to  the  conclusion 
that  they  must  break  altogether  with  the  mother-coun- 
try. The  postponed  resolution  of  independence  was 
reported  from  a  committee,  of  which  Thomas  Jefferson 
was  chairman,  on  the  ist  of  July.  On  the  2d  it  was 
passed.  On  the  3d,  the  DECLARATION  explaining  and 
vindicating  the  resolution  was  taken  up,  debated,  and 
amended ;  and  on  the  4th  was  passed.  In  this  paper 
the  word  Colonies  is  set  aside  for  "  Free  and  Independ- 
ent States?  The  sole  authorship  of  this  paper  is  con- 
ceded to  Thomas  Jefferson. 

The  Declaration  was  received  by  the  people  every- 
where with  demonstrations  of  approval.  It  came  at  a 
propitious  time.  The  evacuation  of  Boston,  and  a  re- 
pulse of  the  British  sea  and  land  forces  at  Charleston, 
South  Carolina,  left  the  States  free  from  the  presence 
of  any  royal  army,  though  the  British  fleets  hovered  on 
the  coast.  Generally  the  people  were  orderly  in  their 
demonstrations,  though  "  Tories,"  as  the  loyal  colonists 
were  called,  were  in  some  places  insulted  and  roughly 
treated.  In  New  York,  a  leaden  equestrian  statue  of 
George  III  was  thrown  down,  and  the  lead  cast  into 
bullets.  This  statue  had  been  placed  in  the  Bowling 
Green  by  the  citizens  of  New  York  themselves  when 
16 


242  Stories  of  American  History. 

the  Stamp  Act  was  repealed.  Since  the  Declaration 
of  Independence  the  4th  of  July  has  been  the  great  na- 
tional holiday  in  the  United  States. 

On  the  first  day  of  this  year,  1776,  Washington  dis- 
played at  his  headquarters,  near  Boston,  what  he  termed 
the  "  Union  Flag."  The  field  had  thirteen  stripes  ;  the 
upper  corner,  the  blended  crosses  of  St.  George  and  St. 
Andrew.  Congress  adopted  the  flag,  with  the  change 
of  thirteen  stars  for  the  crosses ;  and  it  remains  the  flag 
of  the  United  States,  except  that  for  every  new  state  a 
star  is  added. 

The  French  Canadians,  who  had  been  conquered 
chiefly  through  the  New-Englanders,  would  have  noth- 
ing to  do  with  them,  though  invited  by  Congress,  and 
thus  Canada  remained  firm  for  the  Home  Government ; 
and  its  loyalty  was  re-enforced  by  refugees  from  the 
States.  But  the  French  Government  and  statesmen, 
sullen  under  the  humiliating  treaty  of  1 763,  were  de- 
lighted at  anything  that  could  weaken  England.  Other 
nations  shared  the  jealousy  of  her  power.  There  were, 
moreover,  enthusiastic  youths  who  were  charmed  at  the 
thought  of  a  battle  for  freedom.  The  cause  of  America 
had  able  advocates  in  Europe  in  the  American  commis- 
sioners who  had  been  sent  over  by  Congress.  Promi- 
nent among  these  was  Benjamin  Franklin.  The  com- 
missioners could  not  even,  at  first,  provide  a  passage  for 


The  American  Revolution.  243 

volunteers.  The  Marquis  de  Lafayette,  a  young  French 
nobleman,  twenty  years  of  age,  ran  away  from  home  to 
join  the  Americans,  for  whom  he  fitted  out  a  vessel  at 
his  own  cost.  The  French  Government  not  only  for- 
bade his  departure,  but  dispatched  vessels  with  orders 
to  arrest  him  in  the  French  islands,  should  he  touch 
there.  He  avoided  his  pursuers,  and  landed  in  South 
Carolina  in  April,  1777,  where  his  first  act  was  to  pre- 
sent Governor  Moultrie  with  clothing  and  military 
accoutrements  for  one  hundred  men,  as  a  token  of  his 
appreciation  of  the  gallant  defense  of  Charleston  when, 
in  1776,  that  port  was  attacked  by  Sir  Peter  Parker 
with  his  fleet,  co-operating  with  Sir  Henry  Clinton. 
Several  of  the  Poles,  whose  country  had  just  been  di- 
vided between  Russia,  Austria,  and  Prussia,  came  to 
fight  in  the  cause  of  freedom  ;  and  among  them  the 
famous  patriot  Kosciusko,  and  Count  Pulaski.  De 
Kalb,  Steuben,  and  many  more  European  officers,  were 
volunteers ;  so  that  Washington  had  at  his  side,  in- 
cluding his  own  countrymen,  both  enthusiasm  and  ex- 
perience. 

The  discussion  of  the  Stamp  Act  had  developed 
the  purposes  of  the  British  Ministry,  and  the  repeal  did 
not  surrender  them.  The  resolutions  of  the  Assem- 
blies had  still  their  moral  force.  In  addition  to  the 
expenses  of  the  late  war,  a  standing  army  was  proposed 


244 


Stories  of  American  History. 


for  the  colonies ;  its  officers  appointed  by  the  crown, 
and  the  expenses  of  the  army  to  come  from  the  British 
Treasury.  The  judges  of  the  courts  were  to  be  ap- 
pointed in  England,  as  well  as  other  officers,  and  all 
were  to  be  independent  of  colonial  support ;  the  pay- 
ment for  these  expenses  being  levied  on  the  colonies 
by  taxation. 


franklin  pleading  the  Cause  of  America  before  the  French  King. 


CHAP.   XXVIIL— THE   WAR   OF    INDE- 
PENDENCE. 

1776—1778. 

¥HE  Americans  had  declared  their  independence. 
But  there  was  plenty  of  sharp  fighting  to  come, 
for,  bold  and  firm  as  they  were,  they  had  to  learn  to 
meet  disciplined  troops,  and  to  submit  themselves  to 
discipline.  It  was  an  arduous  work  for  Washington 
to  meet  the  exigencies  of  his  position.  His  difficulties 
could  only  be  intrusted  to  his  safest  counselors,  and 
many  times  could  not  be  confided  even  to  them. 
Much  of  the  burden  he  had  to  bear  alone,  and  only 
subsequent  revelations  have  brought  out  the  full  and 
evenly  balanced  character  of  the  "  Father  of  his  Coun- 
try." 

After  his  repulse  at  Charleston,  Sir  Peter  Parker 
sailed  with  his  squadron  to  New  York.  Thither  Gen- 
eral Washington  had  repaired  after  the  relief  of  Boston, 
and  held  the  city.  In  no  part  of  the  country  had  the 


246  Stories  of  American  History. 

cause  of  the  crown  more  supporters  and  adherents, 
and  there  was  a  plot  discovered,  and  averted,  to  seize 
the  American  commander-in-chief.  The  British  were 
encamped  on  Staten  Island,  in  New  York  Harbor, 
and  their  fleet  was  anchored  in  the  bay.  The  troops 
which  had  held  Boston,  together  with  fresh  arrivals 
from  Europe  of  English  and  Hessians,  and  the  troops 
under  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  made  up  the  British  force 
of  upward  of  twenty  thousand  men.  About  this  time 
overtures  were  made  to  the  colonies  for  a  reconciliation. 
But  as  they  were  made  informally,  and  Lord  Howe, 
the  bearer,  would  not  recognize  the  official  character 
of  those  whom  he  addressed ;  and  as  the  proposition 
was  to  pardon  rebellious  subjects,  not  to  treat  with 
independent  States,  it  was  not  entertained.  Had  the 
offer  come  a  little  earlier,  or  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence been  a  little  later,  the  tender  would  have  di- 
vided the  counsels  of  the  Americans. 

On  the  22d  of  August  the  British  troops  landed 
on  Long  Island,  about  fourteen  thousand  strong,  thence 
to  march  to  the  ferry  opposite  New  York.  On  the 
3oth,  Washington's  forces,  which  had  opposed  their 
progress,  retreating  before  them,  safely  landed  in  the 
city.  The  British  followed  two  weeks  later,  and  by  the 
end  of  September  were  in  possession  of  the  lower  part 
of  Manhattan  Island,  on  which  the  city  of  New  York 


The   War  of  Independence. 


247 


stands.  There  was  constant  fighting,  but  no  general 
engagement.  On  the  i6th  of  November  the  last  post 
held  by  the  Americans  surrendered,  and  Washington 
retreated  across  the  State  of  New  Jersey.  On  the  8th 
of  December,  still  closely  followed  by  the  British,  he 
crossed  the  Delaware  at  Trenton,  having  previously 
sent  over  his  sick  and  wounded  and  stores.  He  had 


Washington's  Retreat  through  New  Jersey. 

previously  seized  or  destroyed  all  boats  above  or  below, 
and  thus  cut  off  pursuit.  This  retreat  through  the 
Jerseys  ranks  among  the  most  masterly  in  history,  and 


248  Stories  of  American  History. 

would  alone  establish  Washington's  claim  to  the  char- 
acter of  a  true  general. 

Washington  established  his  headquarters  at  New- 
town,  Pennsylvania,  nearly  opposite  Trenton,  New 
Jersey.  From  thence,  in  the  early  morning  after 
Christmas-Day,  he  dispatched  a  force  of  between  two 
and  three  thousand  men,  to  surprise  the  Hessian  force 
stationed  there  in  the  midst  of  their  festivities.  It 
was  a  complete  success.  The  Hessian  commander 
Rahl  was  killed,  about  twenty  men  were  killed  or 
wounded,  and  nearly  a  thousand  taken  prisoners. 
With  his  prisoners,  twelve  hundred  stand  of  arms,  six 
field-pieces,  and  all  the  standards  of  the  brigade,  Wash- 
ington immediately  returned  across  the  Delaware. 

On  the  29th  of  December  Washington  entered 
New  Jersey  again,  and  from  that  time  till  July  there 
were  various  engagements,  a  battle  at  Princeton  being 
most  noteworthy.  By  the  ist  of  July  the  British  forces 
were  all  withdrawn  from  the  State,  and  the  march  by 
land  to  Philadelphia  across  New  Jersey  was  abandoned. 
Troops  were  embarked  on  the  23d  for  the  capture  of 
Philadelphia,  and  landed  at  Elk  Creek  on  the  Chesa- 
peake on  the  25th  of  August.  On  their  march  to 
Philadelphia,  they  were  opposed  by  Washington  at  a 
ford  on  the  Brandywine  River.  While  the  battle  was 
going  on  the  British  found  another  passage,  and  the 


The   War  of  Independence.  249 

Americans  were  forced  to  retreat.  In  this  engagement 
the  loss  of  the  British  was  six  hundred,  and  that  of 
the  Americans  nine  hundred,  in  killed  and  wounded. 
Among  the  wounded  was  Lafayette.  On  the  night  of 
the  2oth  of  September  an  outpost  of  the  American 
army,  under  General  Wayne,  was  surprised  at  Paoli, 
and  Wayne  was  compelled  to  retire  with  the  loss  of 
three  hundred  men.  Washington  was  unable  to  resist 
the  passage  of  the  British  over  the  Schuylkill  River, 
and  on  the  26th  the  British  forces  entered  and  occupied 
Philadelphia.  Congress  had  previously  adjourned  its 
session  to  Baltimore,  and  thence  to  other  places.  From 
Elk  Creek  to  Philadelphia  is  about  sixty  miles ;  and 
the  time  occupied  by  the  British  army  in  its  march 
was  thirty  days.  When  Franklin,  then  in  France, 
heard  that  the  British  had  "  taken  Philadelphia,"  he 
said  that  was  not  the  way  to  state  it — "  Philadelphia 
had  taken  the  British." 

The  warlike  stores  of  the  Americans  had  been  re- 
moved before  the  entry  of  the  British  forces.  Wash- 
ington encamped  at  a  point  about  twenty  miles  from 
Philadelphia.  The  British  established  a  chain  of  posts 
above  Philadelphia,  from  the  Delaware  to  the  Schuyl- 
kill, the  main  encampment  being  at  Germantown.  On 
the  4th  of  October  Washington  attempted  a  surprise. 
The  British  pickets  were  driven  in  upon  the  main 


250  Stories  of  American  History. 

body,  and  at  first  the  attack  seemed  almost  a  victory. 
But  the  steadiness  of  the  trained  British  regiments,  as 
they  rallied  and  were  re-enforced,  compelled  him  to  re- 
tire. The  loss  on  each  side  was  heavy,  about  eight 
hundred,  but  the  returns  are  disputed.  It  has  been 
said  of  this  battle,  that  the  British  at  the  beginning 
were  so  nearly  defeated  as  to  learn  respect  for  the 
Americans ;  and  that  the  Americans  were  so  nearly 
routed  at  the  end,  as  to  learn  the  absolute  need  of  dis- 
cipline. 

Meanwhile  stirring  events  were  in  progress  at  the 
North.  In  June,  1776,  General  John  Burgoyne  led  a 
British  force  from  Canada  to  invade  the  United  States. 
The  Canadas  had  now  become  a  good  base  for  opera- 
tions. Their  adherence  to  Great  Britain  had  been  con- 
firmed by  an  invasion  made  by  an  American  force  under 
Benedict  Arnold  and  Richard  Montgomery,  in  the 
winter  of  i775~'76.  Chambly,  St.  Johns,  and  Mont- 
real were  taken,  and  Quebec  attacked.  Before  the 
latter  place  Montgomery  fell.  The  invaders  were  de- 
moralized and  retreated,  relinquishing  all  they  had 
gained ;  and  the  remainder  of  their  force  got  back  to 
the  United  States.  Montgomery's  name  figures  in 
the  geography  of  the  United  States  as  the  name  of 
counties  and  of  towns ;  and  a  monument  is  erected 
to  his  memory  in  St.  Paul's  churchyard,  New  York, 


The   War  of  Independence.  251 

whither  his  remains  were  removed  nearly  fifty  years 
afterward. 

Burgoyne's  first  step  was  to  summon  a  council  of 
the  dreaded  Six  Nations  of  Indians,  a  large  body  of 
whom  he  took  into  the  British  service ;  but  he  found 
these  wild  allies  did  him  more  harm  than  good.  They 
brought  in  scalps  as  the  first  evidences  of  their  loyalty  ; 
and  with  all  that  Burgoyne  could  do  he  found  it  im- 
possible to  keep  them  in  order  in  battle,  or  to  hinder 
them  from  savage  deeds  in  the  settlements  ;  all  which 
made  the  British  name  still  more  hated.  He  took 
Ticonderoga,  but  soon  fell  into  difficulties,  having  neg- 
lected to  keep  open  his  communication  with  Canada. 
His  way  led  through  difficult  roads  and  marshy  grounds, 
over  which  he  could  carry  no  supplies.  He  sent  a 
large  detachment  to  capture  the  stores  of  the  Ameri- 
cans, said  to  be  at  Bennington.  The  force  was  attacked 
by  General  John  Stark,  who,  it  is  said,  called  out  to  his 
men  :  "  There  are  the  red-coats !  We  must  beat  them, 
or  Molly  Stark  will  be  a  widow ! "  Mrs.  Stark  was  not 
a  widow.  The  red-coats  were  beaten  off.  The  battle 
of  Bennington  took  place  on  August  i6th.  The 
Americans  took  four  or  five  hundred  prisoners,  a 
thousand  stand  of  arms,  and  four  pieces  of  artillery. 
The  British  loss  is  stated  at  nearly  two  hundred  in 
killed  and  wounded,  the  American  less  than  one 


252  Stories  of  American  History. 

hundred.  About  the  same  time  a  British  detachment 
assaulted  Fort  Schuyler,  the  western  American  post  in 
New  York,  and  were  repulsed.  The  Indians  ran 
away,  and  the  British  commander  was  forced  to  retreat. 
These  wild  allies  were  continually  deserting,  while 
their  barbarities  led  crowds  of  volunteers  to  join  the 
American  army. 

On  the  1 3th  of  September  Burgoyne  crossed  the 
Hudson,  about  thirty-five  miles  above  Albany.  It  re- 
quired six  days  to  move  ten  miles,  rebuilding  bridges 
and  repairing  roads.  On  the  igth  Burgoyne  reached 
the  camp  of  General  Gates.  It  was  laid  out  by 
Kosciusko,  the  Polish  general,  and  its  site  was  almost 
unassailable.  After  two  days  of  fierce  fighting,  in 
which  the  advantage  was  with  the  Americans,  and 
several  days  of  skirmishing,  Burgoyne  was  obliged  to 
fall  back  to  Saratoga ;  and  there,  on  the  i  ;th,  he  sur- 
rendered. His  supplies  were  intercepted,  and  his  men 
were  starving.  His  retreat  was  cut  off,  and  the 
Americans  were  coming  to  the  aid  of  Gates  by  battal- 
ions. There  was  no  place  in  Burgoyne's  camp  which 
was  not  covered  by  the  artillery  of  the  Americans  ;  and 
it  is  said  that  while  the  council  of  war  was  debating  in 
the  general's  tent  a  cannon-ball  swept  across  the  table. 
The  plan  of  the  campaign  had  been  that  General 
Howe  was  to  take  Philadelphia,  and  march  to  the 


The   War  of  Independence.  253 

north,  to  meet  Burgoyne  coming  south.  But  Burgoyne 
was  defeated  before  Howe  entered  Philadelphia ;  and, 
though  Sir  Henry  Clinton  tried  to  reach  him  from 
New  York,  his  hopes  in  that  quarter  failed.  Burgoyne 
had  no  choice  but  to  capitulate.  The  Americans 
suffered  the  troops  to  keep  their  personal  baggage,  and 
return  to  England  on  condition  of  their  never  serv- 
ing again  in  America.  The  prisoners  were  nearly  six 
thousand ;  the  previous  loss  of  men  was  over  three 
thousand ;  and  the  arms,  artillery,  and  camp  equipage 
were  the  property  of  the  captors.  Lady  Harriet 
Acland  went  through  the  whole  of  this  dreadful  cam- 
paign in  the  English  army,  and  when  her  husband  was 
wounded  passed  into  the  American  camp  to  nurse  him, 
showing  wonderful  bravery  and  resolution  throughout. 
Though  General  Howe  entered  Philadelphia  in 
September,  it  was  not  till  late  in  November  that  he 
was  able  to  open  communication  with  the  fleet  on  the 
Delaware,  which  river  the  Americans  had  obstructed  by 
forts  and  ships  and  sunken  obstacles.  The  American 
army  went  into  winter  quarters  at  Valley  Forge,  where 
they  suffered  severely  for  want  of  supplies  and  cloth- 
ing. Even  officers  came  often  upon  parade  wrapped 
in  old  blankets,  and  the  feet  of  the  shoeless  soldiers 
left  blood-stains  in  the  snow.  Nevertheless,  they  kept 
up  such  a  show  of  strength  that  they  were  left  unmo- 


254  Stories  of  American  History. 

lested  by  the  British.  In  their  winter  quarters  in  Phil- 
adelphia, with  the  countenance  of  such  inhabitants  as 
were  still  loyal  to  the  crown,  the  winter  passed  in  a 
round  of  festivities. 

The  battle  of  Saratoga  was  the  turning-point  of 
the  war.  It  made  the  French  think  the  colonists  no 
longer  rebels,  but  people  worth  helping.  Franklin, 
who  had  been  in  France  with  two  other  commissioners 
over  a  year  without  official  recognition,  now  obtained 
it,  and  in  February  a  treaty  of  amity  and  commerce 
was  concluded  between  France  and  the  United  States. 
This  treaty  was  coupled  with  another  of  eventual 
defensive  alliance.  In  the  following  month  Franklin 
was  received  by  the  King.  The  other  commissioners 
wore  the  court  dress  ;  the  sturdy  Franklin  adhered  to 
his  republican  simplicity.  He  was  the  popular  idol  of 
the  Parisians ;  and,  at  his  reception  by  the  Academy 
of  France,  he  was  addressed  as  the  man  who  had 
"wrenched  the  lightning  from  the  clouds  and  the 
scepter  from  tyrants."  Sick,  perhaps,  of  their  own 
pomp  and  vanity,  the  Parisians  were  in  a  perfect  fever 
of  admiration  of  Franklin's  straightforward  simplicity. 


CHAP.  XXIX.— THE   WAR  OF    INDEPEND- 
ENCE. 

1779—1781. 

/TV HE  eventual  treaty  between  the  United  States 
J-  and  France  soon  came  in  force.  The  French 
embassador  in  England  announced  to  the  British 
Ministry,  in  March,  1778,  that  the  United  States  were 
in  full  possession  of  independence,  that  a  treaty  of 
commerce  and  amity  had  been  concluded,  that  the 
King  of  France  was  determined  to  protect  the  lawful 
commerce  of  his  subjects,  and  had  taken  measures  for 
that  purpose  in  concert  with  the  United  States.  This 
was  regarded  as  establishing  a  state  of  war.  The 
British  embassador  was  recalled  from  Paris,  The 
British  statesmen,  in  office  and  out,  were  divided. 
The  great  Earl  of  Chatham,  who  had  opposed  the  war, 
was  wakened  to  oppose  what  he  deemed  a  dishonor- 
able peace  ;  and  when  the  Duke  of  Richmond  advo- 
cated the  withdrawal  of  the  British  troops,  the  Earl 


256  Stories  of  American  History. 

of  Chatham,  who  had  come  down  to  the  House, 
aware  of  what  was  to  be  done,  ill  and  broken,  rose 
and  protested  against  yielding  an  inch  of  British 
ground.  In  the  midst  of  his  speech  he  tottered  and 
fell  back,  in  a  fit  of  apoplexy,  of  which  shortly  after 
he  died. 

In  June,  1778,  the  British  evacuated  Philadelphia, 
crossing  over  to  New  Jersey,  and  marching  to  New 
York.  The  crossing  of  the  State  occupied  a  little 
over  two  weeks,  and  Washington  followed,  harassing 
the  British.  On  this  march  occurred  the  battle  of 
Monmouth,  one  of  the  most  severely  contested  during 
the  wrar.  The  British  had  the  advantage  during  the 
early  part  of  the  day,  the  Americans  later.  Both  ar- 
mies remained  on  the  field  ;  but  during  the  night  the 
British  retreated  with  such  silence  and  skill,  that  their 
disappearance  was  not  known  till  daylight.  During 
this  march  the  British  lost  two  thousand  men,  includ- 
ing desertions.  The  retreat  was  inevitable,  for  a  pow- 
erful French  fleet,  under  the  Count  d'Estaing,  was  al- 
ready on  its  passage.  Had  he  found  Howe  in  Phila- 
delphia, and  his  fleet  in  the  Delaware,  the  position 
would  have  been  a  serious  one.  D'Estaing  arrived  in 
July,  and  undertook  to  co-operate  with  the  Americans 
in  the  siege  of  Newport,  Rhode  Island.  Disputes 
arose  between  the  American  officers  of  the  army  and 


The   War  of  Independence.  257 

the  commander  of  the  French  fleet.     D'Estaing  with- 
drew, and  the  siege  was  raised. 

There  was  much  distrust  of  the  French  among  the 
Americans.  Perhaps  as  citizens  of  the  new  republic, 
they  had  not  quite  forgotten  their  traditional  dislike  as 
British  colonists  often  at  war  with  their  French  neigh- 
bors. Heated  debates  took  place  in  Congress,  the  un- 
defined powers  of  a  legislative  body  without  an  execu- 
tive head  causing  frequent  disputes.  Meanwhile,  in  the 
progress  of  the  war,  savage  things  were  done  on  either 
side.  The  country  was,  in  many  districts,  demoralized. 
Marauders  ranged  themselves  for  plunder  and  the  pur- 
poses of  hate  under  both  flags.  An  American,  named 
John  Butler,  organized  early  in  the  war  a  band  of  trai- 
tors, Indians,  and  vagabonds,  who  dressed  and  painted 
like  Indians,  with  which  he  harried  the  borders.  In  July, 
1778,  he  attacked  the  settlement  of  Wyoming,  Penn- 
sylvania, with  his  band  of  "  Rangers,"  as  they  called 
themselves.  The  settlers  were  overpowered,  the  Indi- 
ans took  nearly  three  hundred  scalps,  and,  having  ca- 
pitulated, the  survivors — men,  women,  and  children — 
were  permitted  to  fly,  though  savage  ferocity  murdered 
many  fugitives.  The  houses  were  burned,  and  the  set- 
tlement desolated.  All  along  the  frontier,  the  Indians 
were  incited  to  attack  the  Americans,  though  some  of 

the  tribes  refused  to  attack,  and  even  joined  them. 

17 


258 


Stories  of  American  History. 


In  the  spring  of  1780,  Charleston,  South  Carolina, 
surrendered  to  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  and  the  State  was 
assumed  to  be  again  under  the  crown.  But  while 
many  were  willing  to  submit,  or  obeyed  under  con- 
straint, the  spirit  of  resistance  was  still  alive ;  and 


General  Motion  and  his  Men. 

Generals  Francis  Marion  and  Thomas  Sumter,  the 
former  of  whom  was  called  the  "  Swamp  Fox,"  crept 
about  in  the  woods  and  marshes,  annoying  the  Brit- 
ish outposts,  and  attacking  convoys  and  detachments. 
These  men  were  more  than  mere  partisans,  and  their 


The   War  of  Independence.  259 

names  are  historic.  As  the  tide  of  success  ebbed  and 
flowed,  the  British  treated  as  deserters  those  among 
their  prisoners  who  had  been  forced  previously  into  the 
British  service,  or  who  had  accepted  submission,  or 
taken  the  oath  of  allegiance.  All  these  things  mad- 
dened the  South,  and  indicated  the  final  defeat  of  the 
British  arms.  Meanwhile,  at  sea,  British  transports 
and  private  ships  were  captured  by  American  priva- 
teers. Congress  early  in  the  war  had  both  built  na- 
tional vessels  and  authorized  and  commissioned  priva- 
teers. Among  these  privateers,  the  most  noted — a 
terror  of  the  seas — was  John  Paul  Jones.  One  ship 
which  he  commanded  was  named,  after  Franklin's 
"  Poor  Richard,"  almanac-maker,  Bonhomme  Richard. 
Washington  had  to  be  extremely  patient  and 
cautious,  and  to  bear  with  many  murmurs  of  those 
who  complained  that  he  did  not  gain  any  great  vic- 
tories, like  Gates  at  Saratoga,  forgetting  that  Wash- 
ington's policy  in  preventing  General  Howe  from 
reaching  Philadelphia  through'  New  Jersey,  and  in 
impeding  his  march  from  the  Chesapeake,  had  made 
Burgoyne's  defeat  possible.  There  were  jealousies  too 
among  the  generals,  but  in  only  one  case  did  it  rise 
to  treachery.  Benedict  Arnold,  a  brave  but  fierce  and 
selfish  man,  was  long  a  subject  of  distrust ;  and,  as 
he  claimed,  of  neglect.  He  had  even  been  tried  for 


260  Stories  of  American  History. 

dishonesty.  But  his  undisputed  military  talent  pro- 
cured for  him  the  command  of  the  fort  at  West  Point, 
on  the  Hudson  River.  It  was  a  most  important  point, 
commanding  the  approach  to  New  York,  then  held  by 
the  British  army,  and  keeping  open  the  communication 
between  New  England  and  the  West.  Arnold  opened 
a  correspondence  with  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  who  had 
returned  from  Charleston  to  New  York ;  on  the  23d 
of  September  Major  John  Andre,  an  English  officer, 
was  stopped  by  three  American  scouts,  as,  clad  in 
citizen's  clothes,  he  was  riding  toward  New  York. 
His  manner  and  replies  aroused  their  suspicions,  his 
offer  of  a  large  ransom  confirmed  them.  He  was 
searched,  and  concealed  in  his  stockings  were  found  a 
plan  of  the  fortifications  at  West  Point,  a  memorial 
from  the  engineer  on  the  attack  and  defense  of  the 
post,  and  returns  of  the  garrison  cannon  and  stores. 
These  were  in  Arnold's  handwriting.  Andre  was  de- 
tained, but  permitted  to  send  a  letter  to  Arnold,  who 
made  his  escape.  Washington,  returning  from  Con- 
necticut, turned  aside  to  examine  the  condition  of  the 
works  at  West  Point,  and  there  first  heard  of  Arnold's 
treachery  after  his  flight.  The  first  duty  was  to  pro- 
vide for  the  safety  of  the  post ;  since  the  preparations 
for  the  completion  of  the  plot,  including  the  capture  of 
Washington  himself,  were  already  in  progress.  On 


The   War  of  Independence.  261 

the  2  Qth  Andre  was  brought  before  a  board  of  officers, 
and  unanimously  adjudged  a  spy.  The  execution  of 
the  sentence  was  delayed  until  the  2d  of  October,  at 
the  request  of  Clinton,  that  representations  might  be 
made  in  behalf  of  the  prisoner.  The  overtures  were 
for  an  exchange.  The  answer  was,  that  no  one  but 
Arnold  could  be  received  in  exchange  for  Andre. 
This  could  not  be,  and  Andre  suffered.  If  the  purpose 
of  a  spy  be  to  obtain  damaging  information,  by  covert 
means,  he  had  done  it.  Washington  did  not  sit  in  the 
board  which  tried  him.  His  remains  were  taken  home 
to  England  and  buried  in  Westminster  Abbey.  He 
was  a  youth  of  promise,  and  much  beloved.  So  also 
was  Nathan  Hale,  a  graduate  fresh  from  Yale  College, 
who  was  executed  as  a  spy  in  1776,  having  been  found 
within  the  British  lines.  In  character  and  in  standing 
they  were  equals,  and  their  sad  fate  was  the  inexorable 
rule  of  war. 

Troubles  came  thick  and  fast  on  the  Americans  in 
the  winter  of  i78o-'8i.  There  was  neither  pay  nor 
food  to  be  had  for  the  soldiers.  The  Pennsylvania 
troops  in  their  winter  quarters  in  New  Jersey  revolted, 
from  sheer  suffering ;  but  were  won  back  to  their 
allegiance,  and  a  large  number  discharged,  as  they 
claimed  was  their  right.  Two  British  emissaries  sent 
from  New  York  to  corrupt  them  were  hanged  as  spies. 


262 


Stories  of  American  History. 


The  New  Jersey  troops  followed  the  bad  example  ;  but 
it  was  deemed  necessary  to  adopt  sterner  measures. 
Their  camp  was  surrounded  by  a  detachment  of  loyal 


The  Army  in  Winter  Quarters. 

troops ;  three  of  the  ringleaders  were  tried  by  drum- 
head court-martial,  of  whom  two  were  shot  and  the 
other  released. 

Gates,  who  had  been  appointed  to  the  command  of 
the  American  army  in  the  South,  had  "  changed  his 
Northern  laurels  for  Southern  willows."  In  August, 


The    War  of  Independence.  263 

1780,  he  was  routed  by  Cornwallis  at  Camden,  South 
Carolina.  He  was  superseded  by  General  Nathanael 
Greene.  Greene  was  the  son  of  a  Quaker  preacher  in 
Rhode  Island.  At  the  beginning  of  the  Revolution 
he  renounced  his  Quaker  principles,  studied  military 
tactics,  and  commanded  the  Rhode  Island  troops  who 
joined  Washington  at  Cambridge,  which  under  his 
drill  and  discipline  were  among  the  best  troops  in  the 
field.  He  deserved,  gained,  and  kept  the  confidence 
of  Washington,  was  early  promoted,  and  had  distin- 
guished himself  in  most  of  the  leading  battles  in  the 
war.  He  worked  in  boyhood  as  a  blacksmith,  but  by 
diligence  in  study  supplemented  the  little  he  had 
learned  in  a  common  school.  When  Greene  reached 
his  command  in  North  Carolina,  with  about  four 
hundred  men,  he  found  the  skeleton  of  the  Southern 
army,  without  artillery,  stores,  or  discipline.  To  re- 
store the  last  required  vigorous  measures.  The  whole 
country  was  suffering  under  the  cruelty  of  the  partisan 
rangers,  on  both  sides. 

A  detachment  of  Greene's  army,  under  General 
Daniel  Morgan,  encamped  at  a  place  called  Cowpens 
in  South  Carolina,  was  attacked  by  a  British  force 
under  Colonel  Tarleton,  January  17,  1781.  The  rout 
of  the  attacking  force  was  complete,  so  skillfully 
were  Morgan's  men  posted  and  led.  The  American 


264  Stories  of  American  History. 

loss  in  killed  and  wounded  was  less  than  a  hundred  ; 
the  British,  over  three  hundred,  besides  five  hundred 
prisoners,  and  a  large  amount  of  military  stores.  Not- 
withstanding the  victory,  the  Americans  were  com- 
pelled to  retreat  before  the  superior  force  of  Cornwallis. 
So  ill  shod  were  they  that  the  ground  was  tracked 
with  the  blood  from  their  wounded  feet,  the  supply  of 
blankets  was  one  to  four  men,  and  that  of  food  scanty 
and  irregular.  Greene  halted  at  Guilford,  North 
Carolina,  and  there,  on  the  i5th  of  March,  was  attacked 
by  Cornwallis.  The  British  gained  the  victory,  but 
with  such  terrible  loss  that  it  did  them  as  much  harm 
as  a  defeat. 

The  pursuers  now  became  the  pursued.  The 
royalists  were  dispirited,  and  the  undecided  rallied  to 
the  support  of  the  Americans.  Harassed  by  Greene, 
Cornwallis  reached  Wilmington,  a  seaport  of  North 
Carolina,  with  the  wreck  of  his  army,  where  a  body  of 
troops  sent  from  Charleston  awaited  him.  Greene 
left  Cornwallis  in  Wilmington,  and  pursued  his  course 
to  the  south,  now  successful,  now  defeated  ;  till,  by  the 
month  of  September,  the  British  held  in  three  States— 
the  Carolinas  and  Georgia  —  only  the  three  seaports, 
Wilmington,  Charleston,  and  Savannah.  In  Charles- 
ton the  British  commander  completed  the  disaffection 
to  the  crown  by  the  execution  on  the  gallows  of  Isaac 


The   War  of  Independence.  265 

Hayne,  a  man  widely  known  and  esteemed.  After 
the  fall  of  Charleston,  Hayne  had  accepted  British 
protection.  When  the  British  were  shut  up  and  could 
no  longer  protect  him,  he  joined  his  countrymen,  was 
taken  in  arms,  and  hanged. 

In  the  beginning  of  1781  Arnold,  now  holding  a 
royal  commission,  was  sent  to  Virginia  with  sixteen 
hundred  men.  Lafayette  had  made  a  visit  to  France, 
and  had  been  received  at  home  with  high  honors, 
being  followed  by  the  most  hearty  official  commen- 
dation of  the  American  Government.  He  returned  to 
America  ;  not,  as  at  first,  a  fugitive,  but  with  high 
military  rank  and  reputation.  To  Lafayette,  Wash- 
ington intrusted  the  checking  of  Arnold.  That  trai- 
tor's stay  was  only  long  enough  to  burn  Richmond, 
and  indulge  in  a  brief  exhibition  of  ferocity.  Corn- 
wallis  arrived  upon  the  scene,  and,  having  no  desire 
for  his  company,  ordered  him  to  New  York.  He 
retained  the  command  of  an  expedition  to  Connecti- 
cut, where  he  burned  New  London,  took  a  small  fort  by 
storm,  massacred  more  than  half  the  garrison  after  the 
surrender,  killing  the  commander  with  his  own  hand. 
And  that  is  the  last  to  be  said  of  Benedict  Arnold,  ex- 
cept that  the  British  officers,  to  their  honor,  never 
would  receive  him  as  a  comrade.  In  St.  Johns,  New 
Brunswick,  where  he  tried  to  reside,  he  was  hung  in 


266  Stories  of  American  History. 

effigy.  A  British  officer  whom  he  challenged  stood  un- 
hurt before  Arnold's  fire,  and  declined  to  return  it.  "  I 
leave  you?  he  said,  "  for  the  hangman." 

Cornwallis,  re-enforced,  made  war  on  the  Virginians. 
Lafayette,  re-enforced,  contended  with  him.  Virginia 
became  the  last  battle-field.  The  French  contingent, 
under  Rochambeau,  marched  in  by  land.  Cornwallis 
was  driven  to  Yorktown,  on  the  Chesapeake,  but  the 
French  fleet  under  De  Grasse  appeared  in  the  bay,  and 
cut  off  both  the  chances  of  relief  and  of  escape.  Wash- 
ington, who  had  sent  troops  forward,  himself  hurried  to 
join  the  army,  spending  one  night  at  his  own  home, 
Mount  Vernon.  On  the  Qth  of  October,  1781,  the 
siege  batteries  against  Yorktown  being  completed 
Washington  himself  applied  the  match  to  the  first 
gun.  The  two  allied  armies  pressed  the  siege.  Once 
the  British  forces  attempted  a  sally,  but  in  vain.  As  a 
last  resort,  it  was  proposed  to  cross  the  York  River 
and  push  to  the  North,  but  that  was  abandoned ;  and 
to  save  useless  bloodshed  Cornwallis  capitulated  on 
the  i  Qth,  with  seven  thousand  men  as  prisoners  of  war. 
The  ships  and  naval  stores  were  given  to  the  French. 
The  loss  of  the  British  during  the  siege  was  about  five 
hundred,  that  of  the  Americans  three  hundred  men. 
The  investing  armies  numbered  sixteen  thousand  men, 
seven  thousand  of  whom  were  French.  So  closed  the 


The   War  of  Independence. 


267 


serious    work    of   the   war, 
though     Indian    raids    and 
partisan     difficulties      con- 
tinued on  the  Western  borders  somewhat  longer. 

The  news  came  to  Philadelphia  at  night.  It  is  said 
that  the  officer  who  brought  it  was  taken  up  for  knock- 
ing too  loud  at  the  door  of  the  residence  of  the  presi- 
dent of  Congress.  In  those  days  the  watchmen  called 
the  hours,  and  the  city  was  waked  with  the  cry,  "  Past 
twelve  o'clock,  and  Cornwallis  is  taken ! " 


CHAP.   XXX.— THE   AMERICAN 
REPUBLIC. 

1782—1794. 

war  in  the  United  States  was  virtually  closed 
by  the  battle  of  Yorktown.  But  the  hostilities 
between  Great  Britain  and  the  allies  of  the  United 
States  continued.  Spain  and  Holland  had  been  drawn 
into  the  quarrel,  and  their  paths  over  the  seas  were 
no  longer  safe.  The  fleets  and  cruisers  of  the  allied 
nations  were  to  be  found  throughout  the  Atlantic. 
The  vessels  bringing  home  sugar  and  other  West  India 
products  had  to  be  guarded  by  ships  of  war ;  and  the 
settlements  themselves  were  in  danger,  in  spite  of  the 
great  victories  won  by  Admiral  Rodney.  The  Span- 
iards took  back  the  peninsula  of  Florida,  which  had 
not  joined  the  thirteen  colonies.  The  French  had 
taken  St.  Vincent,  St.  Lucie,  and  Tobago,  and  several 
other  of  the  lesser  islands.  Demerara  was  first  taken 
by  the  Dutch,  and  then  retaken  by  the  English. 


The  American  Republic.  269 

Count  de  Grasse,  with  his  fleet,  after  the  great 
success  in  Chesapeake  Bay,  sailed  to  the  south,  mean- 
ing to  make  a  grand  descent  on  the  two  chief  Eng- 
lish islands,  Jamaica  and  Barbadoes,  but  Admirals 
Rodney  and  Hood  were  there  to  watch  him.  They 
could  not  save  St.  Kitts  from  being  taken,  but  on 
the  5th  of  April,  1782,  they  fought  a  tremendous 
battle,  which  did  immense  damage  to  the  French 
fleet.  Captain  Cornwallis  had  the  satisfaction  of 
avenging  his  brother's  disasters  by  taking  the  Ville 
de  Paris,  De  Grasse's  flagship,  with  the  count  him- 
self on  board,  and  thirty-six  chests  of  treasure,  in- 
tended to  pay  the  French  troops  which  were  to  have 
taken  Jamaica.  The  French  lost  nine  ships,  the  Eng- 
lish none  ;  the  French  lost  nearly  three  thousand  men, 
the  English  not  two  hundred  and  fifty.  Thus  Eng- 
land could  finish  the  war  with  a  victory,  and  peace  was 
made. 

The  rights  of  England  to  the  United  States  were 
given  up,  and  their  boundary  traced  where  they 
touched  on  Canada  and  Nova  Scotia.  In  the  West 
Indies  the  islands  seized  on  either  side  were  given  up 
except  that  the  French  kept  Tobago.  The  Dutch 
and  English  likewise  exchanged  conquests,  but  the 
Spaniards  kept  Florida.  The  French  were  at  that 
time  attempting  much  in  Guiana,  or  Cayenne,  as  they 


270  Stories  of  American  History. 

called  it,  and  settlements  of  intelligent  and  cultivated 
people  were  made  there.  The  wonderful  natural  his- 
tory of  the  place  began  to  excite  interest  in  Europe, 
and,  so  far  as  so  unhealthy  a  region  could  prosper,  it 
flourished  greatly. 

Sir  Guy  Carleton  had  been  sent  out  to  America  in 
1782  to  supersede  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  and  he  bore  the 
olive-branch.  Congress  declined  to  treat  except  in 
conjunction  with  France,  and  in  Paris ;  but  Sir  Guy's 
conciliatory  manners,  and  his  putting  a  stop  to  the 
border  cruelties  of"  rangers"  and  Indians,  had  a  great 
and  salutary  effect.  Peace  already  existed  when,  on 
November  30,  1782,  the  provisional  treaty  between 
Great  Britain  and  the  United  States  was  signed  in 
Paris.  The  final  treaty,  which  awaited  the  negotia- 
tions between  England  and  the  Continental  powers, 
was  not  signed  till  nearly  a  year  later.  But  the  pro- 
visional or  preliminary  treaty  was  accepted  as  conclu- 
sive. Early  in  April  official  intelligence  was  received 
of  the  signing  of  the  treaty,  and  on  the  i  gth  of  that 
month  George  Washington,  in  general  orders,  an- 
nounced the  cessation  of  hostilities.  He  directed  the 
chaplains  with  the  several  brigades  to  render  thanks, 
and  he  did  not  forget  to  remind  the  army  that  the  day 
was  the  anniversary  of  the  battle  of  Lexington.  "  On 
such  a  happy  day,  which  is  the  harbinger  of  peace, 


The  American  Republic.  271 

a  day  which  completes  the  eighth  year  of  the  war,  it 
would  be  ingratitude  not  to  rejoice." 

In  November  the  British  army  left  New  York,  a 
city  of  which  they  had  held  possession  ever  since, 
seven  years  before,  Washington  had  retreated  before 
them.  The  embarkation  was  leisurely  made,  permit- 
ting Americans  who  still  adhered  to  the  crown  to  take 
with  them  their  effects.  On  the  25th  an  American 
force  marched  in  and  took  formal  possession.  "  Evac- 
uation Day  "  is  still  kept  as  a  holiday.  But  bitterness 
against  the  "  Tories  " — as  British  loyalists  were  called 
—wore  away.  A  stipulation  of  the  treaty  was  that 
the  loyalists  should  not  be  harassed  with  confiscation. 
The  laws  against  them  were  generally  repealed. 
Many  returned  to  their  homes ;  and  this  lenity  pre- 
vented the  embarrassment  of  the  new  nation  by  a  dis- 
affected faction. 

The  United  States  had  hitherto  continued  under 
the  "  Articles  of  Confederation  "  adopted  during  the 
war ;  but  it  was  soon  discovered  that  a  confederation 
without  a  head,  and  a  legislature  without  an  executive, 
would  not  serve.  In  17873  convention  was  called, 
under  the  sanction  of  Congress,  but  independent  of  it, 
to  revise  the  articles.  The  convention  met  in  Phila- 
delphia, and  Washington  was  elected  its  presiding  offi- 
cer. Eleven  States  sent  delegates.  After  four  months' 


272  Stories  of  American  History. 

consultation  a  Constitution  was  put  forth,  to  be  in  force 
when  nine  States  should  have  ratified  it.  By  the 
month  of  July,  1788,  ten  States  had  accepted,  and  the 
others  presently  came  in.  At  the  first  session  of  the 
new  Congress  of  the  United  States,  ten  amendments  of 
the  Constitution  were  proposed  and  afterward  adopted 
by  the  States.  Two  more  were  added  at  intervals  of 
several  years.  The  thirteenth,  fourteenth,  and  fifteenth, 
relating  to  the  altered  condition  of  the  slaves,  and  the 
adjustment  of  the  country  after  the  war  of  the  rebellion, 
were  adopted  in  1865  and  1870. 

Each  State  has  a  separate  government  of  its  own, 
but  for  the  management  of  national  matters  there  are 
a  national  Legislature,  or  Congress,  and  a  national 
Executive.  The  choice  of  a  President  is  made  by 
electors  chosen  by  the  people.  The  term  of  office  is 
four  years,  but  the  incumbent  may  be  re-elected.  Con- 
gress consists  of  two  Houses — representatives  elected 
by  voters  in  their  districts,  and  a  Senate  chosen  by 
the  Legislatures  of  the  States.  The  representative's 
term  is  two  years,  the  senator's  six.  Each  State  has 
two  senators,  and  one  is  elected  every  three  years,  mak- 
ing the  Senate  a  perpetual  body,  over  which  the  Vice- 
President  of  the  United  States  presides.  The  Vice- 
President,  chosen  at  the  same  time  as  the  President, 
must  be  taken  from  a  different  State.  To  prevent  jeal- 


The  American  Republic.  273 

ousy,  it  was  decided  that  the  President  should  live  and 
Congress  sit  in  a  place  belonging  to  no  State,  and  a 
tract  of  country  was  ceded  by  Maryland  and  Virginia. 
It  is  called  the  District  of  Columbia,  and  includes  the 
cities  of  Washington  and  Georgetown,  the  former  being 
the  seat  of  government.  Washington  was  laid  out  by 
General  Washington  himself  in  1790,  as  the  "  Federal 
City."  In  1800,  after  the  death  of  Washington,  Con- 
gress held  its  first  session  there,  and  the  city  took  the 
name  which  it  now  bears.  The  District  has  now  nearly 
two  hundred  thousand  inhabitants,  exclusive  of  Gov- 
ernment officials.  The  inhabitants  proper  have  no 
vote  in  national  affairs,  and  the  office-holders  who  re- 
tain their  State  citizenship  must  go  home  to  vote. 

All  men  are  pronounced  in  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence "  free  and  equal,"  but  did  this  mean  black 
men  as  well  as  white  ?  The  Constitution  left  the 
question  to  the  several  States.  But  the  words  slave 
and  slavery  are  not  used  in  the  original  instrument. 
In  the  North,  Negroes  had  been  inherited  from  the 
old  English  and  Dutch  settlers,  and  their  masters  were 
rather  ashamed  of  possessing  them.  In  Massachusetts, 
a  black  woman  named  Elizabeth  Freeman,  commonly 
called  Mum  Bet,  had,  as  early  as  1766,  appealed  to 
the  courts  of  law,  and,  with  Theodore  Sedgwick  as  her 

advocate,  obtained  her  freedom  and  compensation  for 
18 


274  Stories  of  American  History. 

twenty-one  years'  service.  She  spent  the  rest  of  her 
life  as  a  hired  servant  in  the  Sedgwick  family.  Many 
Negroes  followed  her  example  and  were  declared  free. 
In  1777  a  vessel  from  Jamaica,  with  several  slaves  on 
board,  was  brought  into  Boston  as  a  prize.  Her  cargo 
was  advertised,  including  the  Negroes,  but  the  authori- 
ties interfered,  and  the  Negroes  were  released.  In 
1 783  a  master  was  found  guilty  of  assault  for  whipping 
a  slave.  The  Bill  of  Rights,  adopted  in  the  State  Con- 
stitution in  1 780,  was  appealed  to  on  the  trial,  and  the 
decision  of  the  court  put  an  end  to  slavery  in  Massa- 
chusetts. In  1787  one  of  the  last  acts  of  the  Con- 
gress of  the  Confederation  was  to  pass  an  ordinance  by 
which  slavery  was  forbidden  in  the  territory  northwest 
of  the  Ohio  River.  In  1820  the  degree  of  latitude  36° 
30'  was  established  as  the  line  north  of  which  slavery 
could  not  be  established.  Massachusetts  was  the  only 
State,  at  the  close  of  the  Revolutionary  War,  in  which 
slavery  was  illegal.  Six  more  of  the  Northern  States 
immediately  or  gradually  abolished  slavery,  but  the  six 
Southern  States  clung  to  the  system. 

Washington  was  the  first  President  of  the  United 
States.  He  was  chosen  in  1789,  receiving  the  votes 
of  all  the  electors,  and  he  lived  in  considerable  state. 
"  His  Excellency  "  was  tacitly  adopted  as  the  title  of 
the  President ;  but  Congress  refused  to  authorize  any 


The  American  Republic. 


275 


other  title    than   "  President   of    the    United    States," 
which  has  always  been  the  official  designation.     Wash- 


Inauguration  of 
Washington  as 
President  of  the   United  States. 

ington  was  inaugurated 
President  on  the  3Oth  of 
April,  in  New  York,  which  was 
then  the  seat  of  government.  His 
journey  from  Mount  Vernon  to 
New  York  was  a  continued  tri- 


276  Stories  of  American  History. 

umphal  progress.  He  landed  amid  salvos  of  artil- 
lery, and  the  hearty  cheers  of  thousands.  A  carriage 
was  prepared  for  him,  but  he  preferred  to  walk  to 
his  lodgings.  The  streets  through  which  he  passed, 
attended  by  a  long  civil  and  military  train,  were 
decorated  with  flowers,  banners,  and  all  other  pos- 
sible tokens  of  welcome.  On  the  day  of  the  inaugu- 
ration he  was  drawn  by  a  single  pair  of  horses,  in  a 
chariot  prepared  for  the  ceremony,  on  the  panels  of 
which  were  emblazoned  the  arms  of  the  United  States. 
Washington  Irving,  his  biographer,  refers  to  four  and 
six  horses  with  servants  and  outriders  in  rich  liveries, 
with  which  the  first  President  of  the  Republic  some- 
times appeared  in  New  York.  Such  style  was  not  un- 
usual in  the  colonies  before  the  Revolution.  Washing- 
ton was  passionately  fond  of  that  noble  animal,  man's 
best  brute  friend,  the  horse.  The  Revolutionary  War, 
in  the  hands  of  its  leaders,  was  not  the  destructive  work 
of  a  mob,  and  old  society  customs  were  maintained. 
At  Washington's  levees,  to  which  every  one  came  in 
full  dress,  he  wore  a  black  velvet  coat,  with  a  white 
satin  waistcoat,  silver  buckles  at  his  knees,  and  his  hair 
powdered  and  gathered  into  a  bag. 

During  Washington's  administration,  three  more 
States  were  added  to  the  Union.  Vermont,  the  Green 
Mountain  State,  was  separated  from  New  York.  Ken- 


The  American  Republic. 


277 


tucky  (the  Indian  word  for  the  Long  River),  the  wild 
western  part  of  Virginia,  grew  to  a  population  large 
enough  to  become  a  State,  though  there  was  so  much 
fighting  with  the  In- 
dians that  it  was  called 
"  the  dark  and  bloody 
ground."  Among  its 
oldest  towns  is  Lex- 
ington. The  settlers 
were  laying  out  the 
place  in  1775,  when  the 
news  of  the  battle 
of  Lexington  reached 
them  in  the  wilderness, 
and  they  took  the  name 
for  their  new  town. 
Tennessee  was  cut  off 
from  Carolina  ;  and 
thus  one  free  State  and  two  slave  States  were  begun. 

All  forms  of  religion  were  free ;  none  had  any  help 
from  the  State,  none  any  advantage  over  another.  In 
the  procession  at  Philadelphia,  in  honor  of  the  new 
Constitution,  the  Hebrew  Rabbi  walked  between  two 
ministers  of  different  Christian  denominations.  But 
the  Episcopal  Church  was  at  a  great  disadvantage ; 
nearly  all  its  places  of  worship  had  been  closed  during 


Pioneer  Life  in  Kentucky. 


278  Stories  of  American  History. 

the  war.  Many  of  its  ministers  and  missionaries,  espe- 
cially those  who  were  English-born,  felt  compelled  by 
their  ordination  vows  to  adhere  to  the  crown.  Most  of 
them  retired  quietly.  But  the  Rev.  Mr.  Boucher,  of 
Annapolis,  in  Maryland,  preached  obedience  to  the  ut- 
most. He  was  told  that  he  would  be  punished  if  he 
went  on  reading  the  prayer  for  the  king.  His  answer 
was  from  his  pulpit,  on  which  he  had  laid  a  brace  of 
pistols.  He  took  for  his  text  Nehemiah's  defiance  of 
his  enemies  (vi,  10,  n),  and  his  sermon  ended  with — 
"  As  long  as  I  live  will  I,  with  Zadok  the  priest,  and 
Nathan  the  prophet,  proclaim  '  God  save  the  king ! ' ' 
His  property  was  confiscated,  and  he  was  driven  back 
to  England.  The  Episcopal  Church  shared  in  the  en- 
mity against  England.  Even  in  Virginia,  where  it  had 
been  supported  by  the  State,  that  protection  had  been 
withdrawn.  Yet  George  Washington  was  a  Church- 
man, and  William  White,  an  Episcopalian,  was  the  first 
Chaplain  of  the  Continental  Congress  in  1777.  After 
the  war  the  Episcopal  Church  could  no  longer  look  to 
England  for  clergymen,  and  there  were  no  bishops  in 
America  to  ordain  them.  Under  existing  laws  no 
English  bishop  could  consecrate  unless  the  candidate 
would  take  the  oath  of  supremacy.  The  Scottish  bish- 
ops, not  being  thus  bound,  consecrated  Samuel  Sea- 
bury,  the  first  American  bishop,  at  Aberdeen,  on  the 


The  American  Republic.  279 

1 4th  of  November,  1784.  On  the  4th  of  February, 
1787,  Parliament  having  passed  a  permissory  Act, 
Bishop  White,  of  Pennsylvania,  and  Provoost,  of  New 
York,  were  consecrated  in  Lambeth  Chapel,  the  two 
Archbishops  of  England,  and  three  others,  uniting  in 
the  office  of  consecration.  Bishop  Madison,  of  Vir- 
ginia, was  consecrated  at  the  same  place,  on  September 
19,  1790.  In  September,  1792,  the  first  consecration 
of  a  bishop  in  the  United  States  took  place  ;  that  of 
Bishop  Claggett,  for  Maryland.  In  1789  a  Prayer- 
book,  much  resembling  the  English  one,  was  set  forth, 
and  thus  began  the  "  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in 
the  United  States  of  America."  Each  diocese  elects 
its  own  bishop,  subject  to  the  approval  of  the  others ; 
and  each  enacts  its  own  canons,  in  a  convention  of  its 
clergy  and  elected  laity ;  and  each  parish  chooses  its 
own  rector.  The  diocesan  canons  must  be  in  harmony 
with  the  canons  of  the  General  Convention.  That 
body  meets  triennially,  and  is  composed  of  clerical  and 
lay  deputies  chosen  by  the  several  dioceses,  with  the 
bishops  who,  holding  their  seats  ex  officio,  are  a  perpet- 
ual body.  The  House  of  Bishops  is  presided  over  by 
their  senior,  and  sits  with  closed  doors ;  while  the  de- 
bates in  the  House  of  Delegates  are  open.  It  may  be 
noted  that  in  the  Act  of  Parliament  authorizing  the 
consecration  of  American  bishops,  there  was  a  proviso 


2 So  Stories  of  American  History. 

that  no  clergyman  of  the  American  Church  should  of- 
ficiate in  England.  This  restriction  was  removed  in 
1840. 

In  Virginia,  and  the  Carolinas,  and  Georgia,  were 
the  most  Episcopalians ;  and  in  the  Carolinas  there  was 
a  considerable  Huguenot  element.  Pennsylvania  was 
still  Quaker,  modified  by  Presbyterians  and  Episco- 
palians. In  New  York  the  Dutch  Church  had  been 
firmly  planted,  but  the  Episcopal  Church  had  many 
and  influential  adherents,  as  it  had  also  in  New  Jersey. 
New  England  was  congregational,  or  Independent, 
with  an  abiding  leaven  of  Puritanism ;  the  Baptists 
being  in  church  organization,  congregational.  The 
Presbyterians  Were  influential,  wherever  they  took 
hold  ;  and  the  Methodists  were  a  rising  body,  their 
ministers  having  found  adherents  almost  as  soon  in 
America  as  in  England.  Louisiana  remained  Roman 
Catholic.  Maryland,  though  settled  under  the  auspices 
of  a  Roman  Catholic  proprietary,  gave  Protestants 
equal  rights,  for  her  charter  required  it.  There  were  all 
sorts  and  varieties  of  sects ;  and  the  recoil  from  the 
free-thinking  of  France  introduced  in  America  the 
modern  "  revival  of  religion  " — a.  revival  of  zeal  with- 

o 

out  persecution — a  religious  and  salutary  contagion. 


CHAP.   XXXL— THE   REVOLUTION    IN 
HAITI. 

1791—1803. 

'T^HE  French  had  been  very  prosperous  in  the  West 
India  isles,  especially  in  their  half  of  the  large  and 
fertile  one  of  Hispaniola,  or  St.  Domingo.  There,  as 
in  all  the  other  Indian  isles,  the  population  consisted 
of  whites,  who,  if  born  there,  were  called  Creoles  ;  of 
black  slaves  ;  and  of  a  colored  race,  the  offspring  of  the 
other  two,  who  were  called  Mulattoes.  Mahogany, 
satin-wood,  and  other  valuable  timber,  grew  in  the  for- 
ests ;  cotton,  coffee,  and  sugar,  in  the  plantations  ;  and 
the  Creoles,  both  there  and  in  Martinique,  were  very 
rich  and  prosperous,  and,  in  general,  were  not  bad  mas- 
ters to  their  slaves. 

In  Europe,  however,  the  French  Revolution  had 
begun.  The  success  of  the  American  Revolution,  and 
the  sympathy  with  republicanism  which  the  aid  of 
France  in  the  War  of  Independence  had  created,  had 


282  Stories  of  American  History. 

set  the  ideas  of  liberty  at  work.  In  the  National 
Assembly  the  affairs  of  the  colonies  were  taken  up. 
In  1/90  it  was  decreed  that  each  colony,  by  its  assem- 
blies freely  elected,  should  express  its  wishes  in  regard 
to  a  national  constitution.  This  opened  the  fearful 
war  of  races.  The  Mulattoes,  though  not  slaves,  were 
not  recognized  as  citizens.  The  Creoles  claimed  the 
exclusive  right  to  vote;  the  Mulattoes  insisted  that 
they  had  an  equal  right  to  the  suffrage  and  to  represen- 
tation. In  1791  the  French  Assembly  issued  a  decree 
in  favor  of  the  Mulattoes,  conferring  equality  on  all 
free  persons  of  color.  The  Creoles,  utterly  shocked 
at  this  decision,  had  organized  an  Assembly  of  their 
own,  and  trodden  the  tricolored  cockade  under  foot. 

While  the  Creoles  and  Mulattoes  were  contending, 
a  fearful  catastrophe  impended  over  them.  The  Negro 
slaves  were  not  considered  in  the  matter,  and  were 
regarded  as  too  ignorant  to  enter  into  the  question. 
But  soon  reports  came  that  the  slaves  were  everywhere 
rising  in  arms ;  and  white  people  came  hurrying  into 
Cape  Town,  having  scarcely  escaped  being  murdered 
by  their  servants.  All  the  women  and  children  whom 
the  ships  could  carry  away  were  put  on  board,  and  all 
the  Creoles  took  up  arms  to  defend  themselves.  In 
the  mean  time  the  slaves  moved  about  in  the  open 
country,  gathering  in  numbers  wherever  they  .went, 


The  Revolution  in  Haiti.  283 

burning  and  plundering  the  places  where  they  had 
worked,  and  massacring  whole  families  of  the  French. 
There  were  striking  exceptions.  The  slaves  of  Count 
Lopinot  rallied  round  him  in  a  body,  and  at  last  came 
away  with  him  to  the  British  Island  of  Trinidad,  where 
he  obtained  a  grant  of  waste  land,  and  made  a  new 
home  with  them.  Another  Negro  saved  his  master's 
two  little  ones,  of  five  and  three  years  old,  took  them 
to  Carolina,  and  there  toiled  hard  himself  to  maintain 
them,  and  give  them  a  good  education.  In  spite  of 
such  instances  of  attachment,  in  two  months'  time  two 
thousand  whites  were  slain,  one  hundred  and  eighty 
sugar-plantations,  and  nine  hundred  of  coffee  and  indigo, 
were  ruined,  and  one  thousand  families  were  brought 
to  poverty.  The  whites  were  everywhere  driven  into 
the  cities,  and  there  besieged.  No  less  than  ten 
thousand  blacks  perished  in  these  attacks,  but  they 
still  remained  in  force  in  the  plains. 

In  1791  commissioners  arrived  at  Cape  Town  from 
France  to  endeavor  to  re-establish  order.  A  general 
amnesty  was  proclaimed.  The  basis  of  the  adjust- 
ment proposed  to  leave  the  internal  affairs  of  the 
colony  to  its  own  Legislature.  This  was  in  effect  re- 
voking the  former  decrees.  But  the  planters  abso- 
lutely refused  any  concessions  whatever,  even  to  the 
Mulattoes,  and  demanded  the  unconditional  submission 


284  Stories  of  American  History. 

of  the  slaves.  Of  course  this  made  the  colored  people 
desperate.  The  Mulattoes  now  sided  with  the  Ne- 
groes, and  the  war  became  more  horrible  than  ever, 
the  whites  treating  the  blacks  like  wild  beasts,  and  the 
Negroes  retaliating  with  the  most  horrid  barbarities. 
The  blacks  had  now  an  organized  force  of  forty  thou- 
sand men,  under  Frangois  Dominique  Toussaint,  who 
was  surnamed  L'Ouverture.  He  was  a  truly  great 
man,  able  as  a  general,  competent  as  an  organizer,  and 
humane  as  a  soldier,  repressing  the  violence  of  his  fol- 
lowers. He  was  a  born  slave,  but  did  not  join  the 
insurgents  till  he  had  secured  the  escape  of  the  agent 
of  the  estate  and  his  family,  from  whom  he  had  received 
kind  treatment. 

In  Europe  things  scarcely  less  barbarous  were  hap- 
pening. The  National  Convention  had  succeeded  the 
Assembly,  and  the  frightful  guillotine  \vas  in  action. 
The  Republic  had  been  proclaimed,  and  Louis  XVI 
had  been  executed,  January  21,  1793.  The  Jacobins 
classed  the  hapless  planters  of  Haiti  with  the  enemies 
of  the  Republic ;  and  irritated  at  them  for  not  having 
submitted  to  the  measures  proposed,  the  Convention 
sent  out  a  new  commission,  after  revoking  the  powers 
which  had  been  conferred  on  the  Legislature  of  the 
island.  A  quarrel  arose  between  the  sailors  of  the 
French  fleet  at  Cape  Town  and  the  Mulatto  popula- 


The  Revolution  in  Haiti.  285 

tion  ;  French  politics  entered  into  the  disturbance, 
royalists  and  Jacobins,  whites  and  Mulattoes  made  the 
streets  run  with  blood,  and  the  Negroes  from  outside 
the  town  rushed  in  ;  and  in  slaughter  and  desolation 
Cape  Town  was  reduced  to  ashes.  Immediately  upon 
this  event  the  French  commissioners  published  a  de- 
cree proclaiming  freedom  to  all  blacks  who  should 
enroll  themselves  under  the  banner  of  the  French  Re- 
public. Toussaint  with  his  troops  passed  into  the  ser- 
vice of  the  French,  and  Negro  slavery  was  abolished 
forever. 

And  now  appeared  the  British  upon  the  scene. 
England  and  the  French  Republic  were  at  war,  and 
Sir  John  Jervis,  having  captured  Guadeloupe,  Mar- 
tinique, and  most  of  the  other  French  islands,  arrived 
at  Port  au  Prince,  and  espoused  the  cause  of  the 
planters  against  the  Negroes.  He  occupied  Port  au 
Prince,  and  commenced  a  systematic  warfare  for  the 
reduction  of  the  island.  Toussaint,  however,  at  the 
head  of  the  French  troops  and  the  Negro  forces,  aided 
by  the  yellow  fever,  the  worst  enemy  of  the  English, 
pressed  the  invaders  back,  and  they  were  forced  to 
leave  the  island  and  its  deadly  fever  to  the  manage- 
ment of  Toussaint. 

A  frightful  war  now  broke  out  between  the  Mulat- 
toes and  Negroes,  which  ended  in  the  defeat  of  the 


286  Stories  of  American  History. 

former,  their  murder  by  thousands  and  their  expulsion 
from  Haiti.  The  Spanish  end  had  been  ceded  to 
France  by  Spain,  and  Toussaint,  who  held  his  appoint- 
ment still  as  an  officer  of  the  French  Republic,  was 
acknowledged  in  the  Spanish  colony  ;  and  in  1 800  his 
authority  was  admitted  through  the  whole  island.  He 
sent  an  envoy  to  Napoleon,  now  First  Consul,  who  re- 
turned with  a  decree  from  Napoleon,  confirming  Tous- 
saint in  his  command  as  general-in-chief,  and  taking 
Haiti  under  the  shield  of  the  last  French  Constitution. 
In  a  proclamation  the  First  Consul  called  on  the 
"brave  blacks  to  remember  that  France  alone  had 
recognized  their  freedom."  The  leading  chiefs  of  the 
island  met  and  drew  up  a  constitution.  They  conferred 
on  Toussaint  unlimited  power,  under  the  title  of  Presi- 
dent and  Governor  for  life,  with  the  right  to  name  his 
successor.  This  constitution  was  sent  to  Paris,  with  a 
letter  to  Napoleon  beginning  with  the  words,  "  The 
First  of  the  Blacks  to  the  First  of  the  Whites." 

The  "  First  of  the  Whites  "  did  not  quite  like  this. 
Peace  was  made  in  1801  between  England  and  France. 
The  French  islands  were  restored  to  France.  The 
first  use  Napoleon  made  of  the  peace  with  England 
was  to  send  out  a  great  fleet  and  army  under  his  broth- 
er-in-law, General  Le  Clerc,  to  reduce  Guadeloupe  and 
Haiti.  In  Guadeloupe  the  same  scenes  had  been  en- 


The  Revolution  in  Haiti.  287 

acted  as  in  Haiti.  The  Mulattoes  had  risen  against 
the  Creoles,  and  the  Negroes  against  both,  and  while 
the  factions  were  at  war  the  French  arrived.  The  Mu- 
lattoes, in  terror  of  the  Negroes,  joined  the  French, 
and  the  old  state  of  things,  including  slavery,  was  re- 
stored. Warned  by  these  things,  Toussaint  prepared 
to  resist,  and  with  Henri  Christophe,  his  able  lieuten- 
ant, kept  up  a  guerrilla  warfare.  Both  sides  grew 
wearied  of  the  contest,  and  the  French  succeeded  in 
detaching,  by  a  separate  treaty,  Toussaint's  principal 
officers,  who  accepted  rank  and  pay  in  the  French  ser- 
vice ;  but  Toussaint  himself  disdained  the  bribe,  and 
retired  to  his  farm  on  the  faith  of  a  treaty.  The  yel- 
low fever  now  broke  out  among  the  French,  and  Le 
Clerc,  anxious  to  complete  his  secret  instructions  to 
seize  and  transport  the  black  leaders,  betrayed  Tous- 
saint by  an  invitation  to  a  personal  interview.  The 
black  First  Consul  fell  into  the  trap,  was  seized  and 
sent  in  chains  to  France,  where  he  was  taken  to  the 
Temple  Prison.  He  appealed  to  Napoleon,  but  he 
was  pitiless ;  and,  more  cruelly  than  if  he  had  caused 
him  to  be  shot,  he  sent  this  child  of  the  tropics  to  the 
castle  of  Joux,  in  the  coldest  part  of  the  Jura.  He 
was  shut  in  a  damp  cell,  with  only  straw  for  his  bed, 
and  scanty  food;  and  there,  in  the  winter  of  1803,  he 
was  found  dead  in  the  straw. 


288  Stories  of  American  History. 

• 

Maddened  by  the  restoration  of  slavery  in  Guade- 
loupe, the  insurgents  rose  again  in  Haiti.  The  black 
chiefs  who  had  gone  over  to  the  French  revolted 
again.  On  the  renewal  of  the  war  between  England 
and  France  in  1803,  the  blacks  were  supplied  with  arms 
by  the  British  cruisers.  But  the  yellow  fever  broke 
out  and  General  Le  Clerc  was  one  of  its  victims.  The 
remains  of  the  French  troops  made  their  escape.  The 
English  cruisers  made  havoc  of  their  fleet,  which  was 
almost  completely  destroyed,  and,  of  a  force  of  thirty- 
five  thousand  men  sent  out  under  Le  Clerc,  scarce 
seven  returned  to  France.  Dessalines,  one  of  Tous- 
saint's  generals,  was  crowned  emperor  in  1804,  and 
attacked  and  killed  by  Christophe  in  1806.  Chris- 
tophe  was  proclaimed  as  Henry  I  of  Haiti  in  the 
same  year,  and  thus  was  the  old  Indian  name  resumed. 
Christophe,  in  his  turn,  was  conquered  by  a  Mulatto 
chief  named  Boyer,  and  killed  himself  rather  than  be 
made  prisoner.  Boyer  united  the  whole  island  under 
one  government  in  1821  ;  but  in  1843  the  Negroes 
rose  in  insurrection  and  forced  him  to  flee  the  island. 
After  a  struggle,  a  Negro,  named  Soulouque,  had  him- 
self proclaimed  emperor,  and  was  chiefly  distinguished 
for  a  fearful  massacre  of  the  Mulattoes.  In  1858  he 
was  forced  to  abdicate.  The  island  was  divided  into 
two  republics,  by  no  means  friendly,  and  so  remains. 


The  Revolution  in  Haiti.  289 

Santo  Domingo,  largest  in  area,  is  least  in  population, 
The  prevailing  religion  is  Roman  Catholic  ;  but  Haiti 
has  also  a  Protestant  bishop,  colored,  a  missionary  of 
the  Episcopal  Church  in  the  United  States. 

Thus  upon  the  first  place  in  America  where  slavery 
was  introduced,  and  at  a  time  when  its  sordid  results 
were  most  profitable,  first  fell  the  disastrous  conse- 
quences. Except  in  Haiti  and  Guadeloupe,  the  Ne- 
groes did  not  rise ;  and  the  French  kept  Cayenne  as  a 
place  to  which  the  proscribed  who  escaped  the  guillo- 
tine in  Paris  could  be  transported  to  die  in  the  swamps. 
Among  the  historical  personages  connected  with  these 
events  was  Josephine  Rose  Tascher  de  la  Pagerie. 
She  was  born  in  Martinique,  and  was  early  taken  to 
France  to  marry  the  Viscount  Beauharnais.  She  re- 
turned to  Martinique  to  attend  her  sick  mother,  but, 
when  these  troubles  took  place,  she  made  her  escape 
to  France.  There,  in  1794,  her  husband  was  guillo- 
tined, and  Josephine  herself  was  among  the  proscribed. 
She  barely  escaped,  to  become  the  wife  of  Napoleon 
Bonaparte.  The  sharp,  quick  suffering  of  the  guillo- 
tine might  have  been  less  than  the  lengthened  torture 
of  the  repudiated  wife. 
19 


CHAP.  XXXIL—  SPANISH   AMERICA. 
1806—1808. 


two  hundred  years  Spain  had  quietly  pos- 
sessed  her  American  colonies,  which  reached 
from  California  on  the  north  down  to  Paraguay  in  the 
south,  embracing  in  name  all  the  southern  continent 
west  of  the  famous  papal  line  of  demarkation. 

These  colonies  were  managed  by  a  Board  at  home 
called  the  Council  of  the  Indies,  at  which  the  king  was 
supposed  to  preside.  The  Council  appointed  vice- 
roys to  Mexico  and  Peru.  All  the  northern  provinces 
were  under  Mexico,  the  southern  under  Peru  ;  and 
the  viceroys  were  like  kings,  living  in  very  great  splen- 
dor, and  with  a  nobility  sometimes  descended  from  the 
old  Aztecs  and  Peruvians,  with  whom  the  Spaniards 
had  intermarried.  Everything  was  in  the  power  of  the 
Council  of  the  Indies.  Even  the  Pope  could  only  act 
on  the  American  Church  through  this  Council,  and  it 
appointed  the  archbishops  and  bishops. 


Spanish  America.  291 

All  notion  had  been  lost  in  Spain  of  ruling  her  de- 
pendencies for  their  good.  All  that  was  thought  of 
was  how  to  get  as  much  out  of  them  as  possible.  The 
gold,  silver,  and  quicksilver  mines  belonged  to  the 
crown,  and  were  wrought  for  the  king's  benefit.  To- 
bacco was  grown  and  sold  only  by  Government  in 
Cuba  and  the  other  islands.  Licenses  had  to  be  bought 
for  growing  sugar,  coffee,  cocoa,  and  indigo.  Flax  and 
hemp  might  not  be  grown  at  all,  because  the  colonists 
were  to  buy  their  clothes  from  the  mother-country. 
No  trade  with  any  foreign  country  was  allowed ;  no 
foreign  vessels  could  find  shelter  in  the  ports  ;  and  such 
articles  as  Spain  could  not  supply  were  only  permitted 
to  be  brought  in  by  merchants  after  paying  a  huge 
price  for  a  license.  Even  in  Spain,  no  ports  but  Seville 
and  Cadiz  might  trade  with  the  New  World,  and 
there  were  very  heavy  taxes  for  this  privilege. 

All  this  was  bad  enough  in  itself,  but  it  was  made 
worse  by  the  Council's  habit  of  selling  every  office  to 
the  highest  bidder.  Out  of  fifty  Mexican  viceroys 
only  one  had  been  born  in  the  country,  and  all  offices 
were  so  entirely  given  to  the  Spaniards  that  it  was 
hardly  possible  for  the  Creoles  to  obtain  justice  on  any 
suit  ;  while  in  common  life  they  were  violently  and 
hardly  treated  by  these  officials  and  the  soldiers. 

The  Church  was  in  a  dreadful  state.     It  had  been 


292  Stories  of  American  History. 

richly  endowed,  and  the  people  accepted  whatever  was 
taught  them.  The  bishops,  however,  being  appointed, 
as  we  have  seen,  by  the  Council  for  money,  were  sel- 
dom faithful.  They  let  the  parish  clergy  be  ignorant, 
careless,  and  vicious ;  and  of  course  the  people  were 
worse,  and  added  thereto  horrible  murderous  ferocity, 
especially  where,  as  in  Mexico  and  La  Plata,  the  Span- 
ish blood  had  been  mixed  with  the  native,  and  pre- 
served the  bad  qualities  of  both.  There  \vas  super- 
stition enough  in  Spain,  but  in  America  it  was  grosser 
still.  Shrines  of  images  said  to  work  miracles  were 
set  up,  and  the  worship  paid  to  them  could  be  called 
nothing  but  idolatry.  The  Council  of  the  Indies 
bought  indulgences  from  Rome  wholesale,  and  sold 
them  in  America  at  their  own  price.  Such  a  state  of 
things  could  only  be  kept  up  by  ignorance  on  the  part 
of  the  people,  and  the  Inquisition  was  in  full  force,  pro- 
hibiting all  learning  more  modern  than  the  Reforma- 
tion, and  seizing  all  books  that  could  open  people's 
minds.  There  was  scarcely  any  occupation  for  those 
who  were  not  forced  by  slavery  to  work,  except  gam- 
bling in  various  forms,  especially  on  fighting-cocks  and 
horse-races.  There  were  perpetual  quarrels,  which  the 
knife  or  the  pistol  was  generally  used  to  settle. 

Never   had  a  trust   been  more  misused  than  that 
which  the  Spanish  kings  sincerely  believed  had  been 


Spanish  America.  293 

committed  to  them  by  the  dispensation  of  Heaven. 
Could  it  be  without  effect  that  the  English  colonies, 
on  provocation  that  was  a  mere  trifle  compared  with 
such  oppression,  had  broken  from  the  mother-country  ? 
The  very  few  who  were  aware  of  the  fact  began  to  be 
stirred.  First  of  all  awoke  Francisco  de  Miranda,  a 
youth  of  good  family  in  Caraccas,  a  seaport  town  in 
Venezuela,  and  an  officer  in  the  army  at  that  place. 
When  only  twenty  years  old  he  had  set  out  on  a  jour- 
ney on  foot  through  the  whole  of  Spanish  South 
.America.  In  1783  he  visited  the  United  States,  and 
contrived  to  get  into  correspondence  with  Washington 
and  Lafayette,  whom  he  made  his  models.  Thence  he 
went  to  Europe,  and  began  again  his  travels  on  foot, 
and  visited  most  of  the  countries  in  Europe,  especially 
Spain,  which  he  found  in  such  a  rotten  state  of  decay 
that  he  was  the  more  determined  to  break  from  it. 
On  his  return  to  South  America  he  talked  so  much 
of  the  wrongs  his  country  had  suffered  that  he  was  ac- 
cused of  revolutionary  intentions,  and  to  avoid  being 
arrested  he  escaped  to  the  West  Indian  Islands,  and 
thence  to  England.  He  visited  Russia,  where  the 
Empress  Catharine  wanted  him  to  enter  her  service, 
but  he  preferred  joining  his  friend  Lafayette  in  France, 
which  was  in  the  midst  of  the  Revolution.  A  com- 
mand in  the  French  army  was  given  him,  but  he  was 


294  Stories  of  American  History. 

unsuccessful,  and  was  twice  before  the  Revolutionary 
Tribunal.  Escaping  with  his  life,  he  repaired  to 
England,  and  tried  to  interest  Mr.  Pitt  in  the  free- 
dom of  South  America.  Spain  and  Portugal  had 
been  forced  to  ally  themselves  with  France,  and 
thus  were  reckoned  the  enemies  of  England.  This 
cut  their  colonies  off  from  much  intercourse  with 
home,  for  no  fleet  could  stand  against  the  British, 
and  almost  all  the  islands  had  been  seized  by  the  Brit- 
ish navy. 

In  1806  Admiral  Sir  Home  Popham  and  General 
Beresford,  without  orders  from  home,  crossed  from  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope  and  seized  Buenos  Ayres,  on  the 
Rio  de  la  Plata.  Thence  they  sent  home  a  million  of 
dollars,  and  announced  that  the  land  of  gold  was  found. 
But  the  Guachos,  a  fierce  race  of  half-savage  herdsmen, 
who  drove  the  cattle  of  the  plains  in  desperate  rides  on 
their  wild  horses,  rallied  under  Liniers,  a  French  officer, 
crossed  the  river  in  a  fog,  and  attacked  Beresford  in 
Buenos  Ayres.  There  was  a  terrible  battle  from  house 
to  house,  ending  in  all  the  English  in  the  town  being 
made  prisoners,  though  Admiral  Popham  continued  to 
blockade  the  river.  Re-enforcements  were  sent  out  to 
him,  but  the  Spanish  colonists  defeated  them,  and  re- 
covered their  city.  This  affair  is  regarded  as  important, 
since  it  showed  the  colonists  that  they  could  contend 


Spanish  America.  295 

with  a  European  force,  and  planted  the  germs  of  cour- 
age for  the  future  revolution. 

Miranda,  finding  that  Mr.  Pitt  would  not  help  him, 
came  to  the  United  States  in  1806.  The  relations 
between  the  States  and  Spain  were  by  no  means 
friendly.  The  purchase  of  Louisiana  from  the  French 
had  caused  disputes  about  the  boundary  of  Florida. 
President  Jefferson's  government  was  no  doubt  in 
sympathy  with  Miranda,  and  so  was  popular  opinion, 
but  no  open  government  aid  or  recognition  was  given 
him.  He  made  preparations,  with  a  show  of  secrecy, 
for  an  expedition  to  Caraccas ;  and,  while  the  expe- 
dition was  fitting  out  in  New  York,  resided  some  time 
in  Washington.  He  bought,  or  chartered,  a  ship  called 
the  Leander  with  the  aid  of  numerous  ardent  young 
men  who  called  themselves  "  sympathizers,"  and  en- 
listed as  volunteers  two  or  three  hundred  men.  With 
these  he  sailed  for  St.  Domingo,  where  he  obtained 
two  smaller  vessels  as  transports.  The  Spanish  gov- 
ernor had  notice,  and  sent  out  a  ship  of  war,  which  cap- 
tured the  transports,  with  some  sixty  men  on  board. 
The  Leander  escaped  to  Trinidad,  and  the  English 
captains  there  undertook  to  protect  Miranda's  landing 
in  Venezuela.  He  took  possession  of  two  or  three 
towns  on  the  coast.  But  it  was  yet  in  vain ;  the 
Spanish  force  was  too  strong,  and  the  indolent  minds 


296 


Stories  of  American  History. 


of  the  Creoles  were  not  yet  sufficiently  stirred  to  make 
them  rise  to  join  Miranda,  so  that  he  was  forced  to  re- 
tnrn  to  Trinidad,  and  the  expedition  was  broken  up. 
Meanwhile,  the  promoters  of  the  enterprise  were  pros- 
ecuted in  the  United  States,  to  avoid  compromising 
the  Government  with  Spain.  They  were,  however,  ac- 
quitted. 


CHAP.   XXXIIL— THE    REVOLT   IN    SPAN- 
ISH   AMERICA. 

1807 — 1813. 

"A  NAPOLEON  had  entirely  cowed  the  King  of 
I  >  Spain,  Charles  IV,  who  made  no  objection 
when,  in  1807,  a  proposal  was  made  to  him  to  divide 
Portugal  with  Spain.  The  reigning  Queen  of  Portu- 
gal, Maria  I,  was  insane,  and  her  son  Joao  (John  VI), 
who  ruled  in  her  name,  made  no  resistance  to  the  in- 
vaders, but  shipped  his  mother  and  all  his  family  off  for 
Brazil,  and  set  up  a  court  at  Rio  de  Janeiro. 

Next,  on  pretense  of  settling  a  family  quarrel,  Na- 
poleon invited  the  King  of  Spain  and  his  son  to  Ba- 
yonne,  and  kept  them  there,  in  captivity,  while  he  gave 
their  throne  to  his  brother  Joseph.  Neither  the  Span- 
iards nor  Portuguese  would  submit  to  this  monstrous 
injustice  ;  and  the  English  coming  to  their  aid,  carried 
on  the  Peninsular  War  against  the  French  ;  while  a 
junta,  or  committee,  at  Seville  represented  the  Spanish 
Government. 


298  Stories  of  American  History. 

The  battle  of  Trafalgar  had  so  crippled  the  French 
fleet  that  Napoleon's  whole  power  was  on  land. 
Thus  the.  English  mastered  all  the  islands  belonging 
to  France  or  its  allies.  In  Cuba  a  Cortes,  or  council, 
swore  to  preserve  the  colony  for  the  true  Spanish 
king,  Charles  IV.  In  Martinique  the  Negroes  tried 
to  make  a  rising  like  that  in  Haiti ;  but  French  and 
English  joined  to  prevent  such  horrors,  and  it,  with 
the  other  French  islands,  was  held  by  England.  So 
also  were  the  Dutch  isles,  together  with  French  and 
Dutch  Guiana,  Holland  having  been  by  this  time  ab- 
sorbed by  France. 

The  Spanish-American  colonies  acted  in  diverse 
manners.  None  would  have  any  concern  with  Bona- 
parte, but  in  each  of  them  there  was  one  party,  chiefly 
of  Spanish  officials,  who  held  by  the  old  country,  and 
another  of  Creoles,  who  thought  this  the  time  for 
breaking  loose.  Only  in  Peru,  as  early  as  in  1806,  an 
officer  tried  to  raise  the  people ;  but  no  one  would  at- 
tend to  him,  and  he  was  put  to  death  at  Cuzco,  declar- 
ing that  no  one  who  was  not  in  office  knew  the  wick- 
edness of  the  Spanish  Government  toward  those  under 
it,  and  that  a  reckoning  must  follow. 

In  Mexico  the  national  party  called  on  the  govern- 
or, Don  Jose  Ituregarry,  to  call  an  assembly  ;  but  the 
Spanish  officials  prevented  this  by  throwing  him  into 


The  Revolt  in  Spanish  America.  299 

prison,  under  charge  of  wanting  to  become  a  king. 
They  carried  on  the  government  against  the  increasing 
disaffection  for  two  years,  but  there  was  a  bitter  hatred 
growing  up  against  the  name  of  Spaniard,  and  a  fellow 
feeling  between  the  Indians,  Mulattoes,  and  Creoles 
was  growing  stronger. 

The  outbreak  came  at  last,  in  1810,  begun  by  the 
Curate  of  Dolores,  Miguel  Hidalgo — a  little,  thin,  white- 
haired  man.  He  and  his  people  surprised  the  Span- 
ish officials  and  burned  their  houses,  and  the  villagers 
around  began  to  join  them.  They  took  several  small 
towns,  and  wherever  they  found  a  Spanish  house  they 
plundered  and  destroyed  it,  often  murdering  the  family. 
They  gathered  numbers  as  they  went  on,  till  sixty 
thousand  had  come  together,  and  marched  upon  the 
city  of  Mexico. 

The  viceroy,  Don  Francisco  Venegas,  sent  for  a 
famous  image  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  called  Nuestra 
Senora  de  los  Ramedios,  and  having  had  it  placed  in 
the  cathedral,  went  thither  in  full  uniform,  placed  his 
staff  in  Our  Lady's  lap,  and  besought  her  to  take  com- 
mand of  the  city.  The  tidings  had  such  an  effect  on 
the  devoutly  superstitious  insurgents  that  they  turned 
aside  to  their  hills  without  firing  a  shot.  The  troops 
followed,  and  twice  defeated  them.  Hidalgo  was  cap- 
tured while  trying  to  go  to  procure  supplies  from  the 


300  Stories  of  American  History. 

United  States,  and  was  shot  July  27,  1811  ;  but  the 
wild  peasantry  continued  to  keep  up  an  outlaw  warfare 
from  their  refuge  in  the  forests. 

Miranda,  in  that  same  year,  1 8 10,  landed  again  in 
Venezuela,  hoping  to  stir  the  people.  He  gained  an 
important  assistant  in  Don  Simon  Bolivar,  a  man  of 
good  birth  at  Caraccas,  who  had  been  educated  in 
Madrid,  and  had  traveled  through  Europe.  There 
he  married  a  Spanish  lady,  who  died  of  yellow  fever 
immediately  upon  her  arrival  at  his  native  home.  He 
visited  the  United  States  after  the  death  of  his  wife, 
and  was  so  struck  with  their  institutions  that  he  joined 
Miranda  with  heart  and  soul.  A  Junta,  or  committee 
of  government,  was  summoned,  in  which  all  the  prov- 
inces under  the  Spanish  captain-general  were  repre- 
sented. This  Junta  began  issuing  its  decrees  in  the 
name  of  the  King  of  Spain,  who  was  held  captive  by 
Napoleon  ;  but  the  Spanish  colonial  officials,  declining 
to  join  in  what  was  a  revolutionary  movement,  were 
thrown  into  prison.  An  appeal  was  made  by  Bolivar 
to  England  ;  but  England  had  enough  to  do  in  aiding 
Spain  to  get  clear  of  the  Bonapartes,  and  declined  to 
interfere,  especially  as  Spain,  represented  by  her  juntas, 
was  the  ally  of  England.  Blanco  White,  an  able  man, 
half  Spanish,  half  English,  published  in  London  a 
Spanish  journal,  in  which  he  pleaded  the  example  of 


The  Revolt  in  Spanish  America.  301 

the  American  Revolution  to  show  that  it  was  vain  to 
suppose  that  the  old  severe  yoke  could  ever  be  reim- 
posed.  But  the  Cortes  in  Spain  were  furious,  and  it 
was  determined  to  force  the  old  system  on  the  settle- 
ments. 

Upon  this,  on  the  i5th  of  July,  1811,  Venezuela 
declared  itself  independent,  and  the  war  began  with  the 
Spaniards  who  held  by  the  mother-country,  commanded 
by  General  Monte verde.  In  the  midst,  on  the  26th 
of  March,  1812,  Maundy-Thursday,  there  was  a  most 
frightful  earthquake,  which  almost  destroyed  the 
town  of  Caraccas,  and  killed  twenty  thousand  people, 
besides  those  who  died  of  hunger  and  misery  after- 
ward. The  people  took  this  as  a  token  of  the  wrath 
of  Heaven,  and  lost  heart.  Bolivar  was  in  command 
of  the  citadel  of  Puerto  Cabello.  The  fortress  was 
given  up  by  treachery,  and  he  had  to  surrender. 
Miranda  also  was  forced  to  yield,  and  contrary  to 
promise  was  treated  as  a  prisoner,  and  sent  to  Spain, 
where  he  died  in  the  dungeons  of  the  Inquisition. 
Bolivar  would  have  had  the  same  fate,  but  he  had 
timely  warning  and  fled  to  Curagoa. 

In  the  south,  Prince  John  of  Portugal  had  laid 
claim  to  Buenos  Ayres,  but  in  vain.  The  Viceroy  Cis- 
tieros  kept  him  out,  but  could  not  maintain  the  Spanish 
power.  His  secretary,  Mariano  Moreno,  became  the 


302  Stories  of  American  History. 

leading  spirit  of  a  Junta,  which,  in  May  1810,  made  a 
declaration  of  independence.  Montevideo  would  not 
join  it,  and  the  whole  country  fell  into  a  dire  state  of 
utter  confusion  and  lawlessness. 

Things  went  on  in  the  same  fashion  in  Chili  on  the 
west  coast.  There  were  no  nobles  there,  but  there  had 
been  much  less  mixture  of  the  Spaniards  and  Indians. 
The  colonists  were  chiefly  Biscayan  mountaineers,  and, 
as  the  climate  is  temperate,  they  had  not  lost  their 
vigor  and  energy.  The  Indians  were  civilized  and 
intelligent,  and  the  Spanish  system  never  was  felt  so 
severely  on  the  west  as  on  the  east  coast ;  so  that,  but 
for  the  fall  of  the  kingdom  at  home,  there  might  have 
been  no  revolt.  In  April,  181 1,  however,  independence 
was  declared,  a  Junta,  appointed  at  Santiago,  and  a 
young  man  named  Juan  Jose"  Carrera  made  general. 

But  Peru  had  never  revolted,  and  troops  came  from 
thence,  who,  though  twice  defeated  by  Carrera,  reduced 
Chili  to  obedience  in  1813.  Thus,  it  may  be  con- 
venient to  remember  that,  in  i8io-'ii,  there  were  four 
declarations  of  independence — in  Mexico,  Caraccas, 
Buenos  Ayres,  and  Santiago,  the  chief  cities  of  all  the 
vSpanish  possessions  except  Cuba  and  Peru  ;  and  that, 
in  two  years,  all  the  republicans  had  been  defeated 
and  reduced,  except  those  in  the  city  of  Buenos  Ayres, 
and  wanderers  everywhere  in  the  hills  and  plains. 


CHAP.    XXXIV.— THE   LAKE   WAR. 

1812 — 1814. 

/T\HE  two  great  men  to  whom  the  United  States 
owed  most,  lived  to  see  the  nation   prosperous. 


Mount   Vernon. 


304  Stories  of  American  History. 

Franklin  lived  to  be  eighty- four,  and  died  in  1 790. 
The  French  revolutionary  leader  said  of  him  that  "  he 
was  the  sage  whom  two  worlds  claim  as  their  own." 
He  died  while  Washington  was  President.  After  his 
second  election,  having  served  eight  years,  the  good 
general  refused  to  be  elected  a  third  time.  He  retired 
to  Mount  Vernon,  where  he  died,  full  of  years  and 
honors,  in  1 799.  As  Congress  declared,  he  was  "  first 
in  war,  first  in  peace,  and  first  in  the  hearts  of  his  coun- 
trymen." The  centennial  of  his  birthday,  February  22, 
1832,  was  duly  honored  by  the  nation,  and  the  day  is 
still  observed  as  a  holiday.  To  him  John  Adams  and 
Thomas  Jefferson  succeeded  ;  and  it  is  worthy  of  note 
that  these  two  great  men  died  on  the  4th  of  July,  1826, 
within  a  few  hours  of  each  other.  Both  were  members 
of  the  committee  which  reported  the  Declaration  of 
Independence,  fifty  years  before. 

Two  chief  inventions  secured  the  power  of  America. 
Eli  Whitney,  a  Massachusetts  schoolmaster  in  Georgia, 
seeing  the  trouble  and  loss  of  time  in  separating  the 
cotton-seeds  from  the  wool,  invented  a  machine  called 
a  gin,  which  made  the  process  so  cheap  and  easy  that 
Carolina  and  Georgia  could  send  out  cotton  to  all  the 
world.  But  this  made  the  slaves  who  cultivated  it  so 
valuable  that  there  was  less  chance  than  ever  of  their 
being  set  free  in  the  South. 


The  Lake   War. 


305 


In    1807,   too,    Robert    Fulton,   of    Pennsylvania, 
launched  his  first  steamboat  on  the   Hudson,  and  al- 


first  Steamboat  on  the  Hudson. 

though  for  a  long  time  steam  was  only  used  for  short 
distances,  it  did  much  to  make  the  large  country  of  dis- 
tant States  communicate  more  readily  within  itself. 

During  the  great  struggle  that  England  had  made 
with  France,  each  of  the  two  powers  had  forbidden 
neutral  nations  to  trade  with  the  other,  and  though  the 


20 


306  Stories  of  American  History. 

United  States  did  not  get  concerned  in  the  quarrel, 
their  ships  were  seized  by  the  English  if  they  traded 
with  the  French,  and  by  the  French  if  they  traded 
with  the  English.  Moreover,  the  English  men-of-war 
claimed  the  right  of  searching  all  American  vessels,  and 
pressing  into  their  own  service  any  Englishman  whom 
they  found  sailing  under  another  flag.  As  it  was  not 
always  easy  to  tell  an  Englishman  from  an  American, 
and  the  captains  were  not  particular,  it  was  said  that 
full  a  thousand  Americans  had  been  forced  to  fight  in 
the  British  navy.  Quarrels  could  not  but  arise,  and  at 
last,  in  1812,  when  James  Madison  was  President,  war 
was  declared  between  the  mother  and  the  daughter 
countries. 

The  Americans  \vent  from  Detroit,  in  Michigan,  to 
attack  Maiden  in  Canada,  accomplished  nothing,  and 
returned.  They  were  followed  by  the  English  General 
Brock,  and  the  American  commander  surrendered. 
The  English  then  occupied  the  post  of  Detroit,  and 
indeed  the  whole  Territory.  This  was  in  July,  1812. 
In  October  of  the  same  year  a  force  of  a  thousand 
men  crossed  from  New  York  to  attack  Kingston  in 
Canada.  This  battle  is  known  in  history  as  that  of 
Lundy's  Lane.  After  hard  fighting  the  victory  fell  into 
the  hands  of  the  English.  In  this  affair  General  Brock 
was  killed,  and  the  loss  on  both  sides  was  terrible. 


The  Lake   War.  307 


In  the  month  of  August,  1812,  occurred  the  first 
important  success  of  the  American  navy.  The  frigate 
Constitution  captured  the  Guerridre  after  an  action  so 
sharp,  though  short,  that  the  prize  was  burned.  But 
the  most  remarkable  fight  was  in  1813,  between  the 
English  Shannon,  a  thirty-eight-gun  ship,  and  the 
Chesapeake,  an  American  with  the  same  number  of 
guns,  but  much  better  "  found  "  as  sailors  say,  with  the 
newest  improvements.  The  Chesapeake  had  an  old 
quarrel  with  England.  Vessels  of  war,  as  well  as  mili- 
tary regiments,  have  their  traditions.  As  long  before 
as  1807  an  English  ship,  the  Leopard,  had  claimed  the 
right  to  search  the  Chesapeake  for  deserters,  and  on  a 
refusal  had  fired,  killed  four  men  and  wounded  sixteen. 
The  Chesapeake  was  unprepared.  The  commander 
indignantly  hauled  down  his  colors,  and  offered  his 
vessel  a  prize  to  the  English.  But  the  English  com- 
mander refused  to  accept  a  surrender,  which  would  have 
been  the  opening  of  war.  He  boarded  the  Chesapeake 
and  took  from  her  crew  four  men.  Three  of  them 
proved  to  be  Americans,  the  fourth  was  hanged.  The 
British  Government  disavowed  the  admiral's  orders, 
under  which  the  Leopard  had  acted,  recalled  the  ad- 
miral, and  returned  two  of  the  three  Americans,  the 
other  having  died.  But  the  affair  added  to  the  irrita- 
tion ;  and  the  relations  of  the  two  countries  grew  more 


308  Stories  of  American  History. 

and  more  unpleasant,  while  the  war  party  in  America 
grew  in  strength  from  the  popular  excitement,  until 
hostilities  resulted.  When  the  Shannon,  which  had 
taken  and  destroyed  twenty-five  prizes,  came  and  lay 
off  Boston  Harbor,  waiting  for  a  ship  to  come  out, 
and  Captain  Broke  sent  in  a  written  challenge  to 
the  American  fleet,  Captain  Lawrence,  in  the  Chesa- 
peake, sailed  out  to  fight  a  sort  of  sea-duel.  It  was 
a  fierce  and  desperate  engagement.  Lawrence  fell, 
mortally  wounded,  crying  out,  "  Don't  give  up  the 
ship  ! "  The  ship  was  taken,  though  Broke  was  se- 
verely wounded.  Captain  Lawrence  died  five  days 
after  the  battle,  and  was  buried  by  his  captors  with 
military  honors. 

The  dying  words  of  Lawrence  became  a  naval 
motto.  A  brig  built  by  the  Americans  on  Lake  Erie 
was  called  after  him,  and  on  her  signal  flag  were  em- 
broidered the  words  of  the  dying  captain.  The  Law- 
rence was  the  flag-ship  of  Commodore  Perry,  who 
commanded  a  squadron  of  nine  vessels,  carrying  from 
twenty  guns  to  one  only.  Opposed  to  him  was  the 
English  squadron  of  six  vessels,  and  it  is  hard  to  com- 
pare the  relative  strength  ;  but  it  is  safe  to  say  that 
the  men  on  each  side  behaved  gallantly.  Perry's  ship 
was  shattered,  and  he  was  forced  to  go  to  another  in 
an  open  boat.  But  he  won  the  victory,  and  he  had 


The  Lake   War. 


309 


the  honor  of  being  the  only  man  to  whom  an  entire 
British  squadron  ever  surrendered. 

Following  the  engagement  on  Lake  Erie  came,  in 


Perry  leaving  his  Flag-Ship  at 
the  Battle  of  Lake  Erie. 

'October,  the  "Battle 
of  the  Thames."  The 
Thames  is  a  river  of 

Canada,  nearly  opposite  Detroit  in  Michigan.  Gen- 
eral William  Henry  Harrison,  Governor  of  Mich- 
igan, and  afterward  President  of  the  United  States, 
seeking  to  recover  his  Territory,  invaded  Canada. 
With  the  aid  of  Perry's  fleet  as  transports,  he  landed 


3io 


Stories  of  American  History. 


his  troops,  met  General  Proctor,  and  defeated  him. 
In  this  battle  Tecumseh  was  slain.  Previously  to  the 
breaking  out  of  the  hostilities  between  England 
and  America,  this  famous  chieftain  was  making  war 


Fall  of  Tecumseh. 

upon  the  United  States  on  his  own  account,  and  was 
defeated   by   General    Harrison    at   Tippecanoe.      He 


The  Lake   War.  311 


joined  the  British  cause,  and  it  is  supposed  that  it  was 
by  the  hand  of  Colonel  R.  M.  Johnson  that  the  brave 
Indian  fell.  The  remote  consequence  of  this  battle 
was  that  Colonel  Johnson  became  Vice- President  of 
the  United  States  in  1837,  and  Harrison  President  in 
1841.  Harrison  died  in  one  month  after  his  inaugu- 
ration. The  rally  ing-cry  in  the  election  of  Johnson 
and  of  Harrison  included  their  military  services.  De- 
troit was  evacuated  by  the  British  upon  the  ap- 
proach of  Harrison.  An  expedition  of  the  Ameri- 
cans against  Montreal  in  this  same  year  was  a 
humiliating  failure. 

Admiral  Cochrane,  with  an  English  fleet,  having 
on  board  General  Ross  and  four  thousand  men,  en- 
tered the  Chesapeake  in  August,  1814.  They  landed, 
unopposed,  at  a  point  about  fifty  miles  from  Washing- 
ton, and  met  their  first  repulse  at  Bladensburg,  on 
the  Potomac,  where  an  American  force  of  about  one 
thousand  regulars  and  five  thousand  militia  awaited 
them,  hoping  to  save  the  city  of  Washington.  It  was 
a  hard  fight,  and  there  was  much  loss  on  both  sides ; 
but  at  last  the  Americans  were  forced  back,  and  were 
obliged  to  leave  Washington  to  its  fate.  General 
Ross  burned  the  President's  house  and  the  Capitol, 
with  many  valuable  papers  and  records.  It  was  an  un- 
generous deed,  but  the  English  had  not  yet  got  over 


312  Stories  of  American  History. 

their  bitterness  of  feeling,  and  still  viewed  the  Ameri- 
cans as  successful  rebels.  The  English  troops,  on  the 
night  of  the  day  after  their  entry  into  Washington, 
silently  evacuated  the  city,  leaving  their  camp-fires 
burning,  and,  reaching  the  point  where  they  had  land- 
ed, re-embarked.  Their  severely  wounded  were  left  in 
Washington. 

On  the  1 3th  of  September  the  British  forces  land- 
ed at  North  Point,  on  the  Patapsco  River,  about  four- 
teen miles  from  Baltimore.  In  a  skirmish  General 
Ross  was  killed.  The  Americans  retreated,  but  formed 
again.  A  second  and  sharper  encounter  took  place, 
but  as  Baltimore  was  approached  the  siege  of  the  city 
seemed  impossible  and  \vas  given  up.  The  fort  guard- 
ing the  approach  to  Baltimore  by  water  was  bombard- 
ed by  the  fleet,  without  making  any  serious  impression 
upon  it,  though  the  fire  was  kept  up  for  twenty-four 
hours.  Francis  Scott  Key,  an  American  lawyer  and 
poet,  who  had  gone  on  board  one  of  the  English  ves- 
sels, was  detained  through  the  bombardment,  and  com- 
posed during  the  night  the  famous  American  lyric, 
"  The  Star-Spangled  Banner."  An  attempt  was  made 
during  the  night  of  the  I4th  to  land  troops  from 
barges,  but  they  were  beaten  off.  The  commander 
received  a  mortal  wound,  and  in  the  desolate  retreat 
slowly  bled  to  death  as  he  was  borne  away.  The  at- 


The  Lake   War.  313 


tack  on  Baltimore  was  abandoned,  and  the  English 
fleet  withdrew  from  the  Chesapeake. 

On  the  lakes  the  struggle  still  continued,  whence 
this  is  sometimes  called  the  Lake  War.  There  was  a 
battle  on  Lake  Champlain,  in  which  the  Americans 
gained  a  complete  victory,  and  this  prevented  Sir 
George  Prevost  from  invading  the  States.  The  war 
on  the  Atlantic  coast  continued,  and  many  seaports, 
North  and  South,  were  Attacked  or  laid  under  contribu- 
tion. In  Florida  the  English  took  possession  of  Pen- 
sacola,  which  was  still  Spanish,  and  made  it  a  military 
and  naval  station.  Thence  they  attacked  Fort  Boyer 
in  Alabama,  but  were  driven  off.  General  Andrew 
Jackson  marched  upon  Pensacola,  for  this  breach  of 
neutrality,  and  entered  the  place  without  difficulty. 
The  English  blew  up  the  forts  they  had  occupied,  and 
sailed  away. 

Then  the  English  made  an  attempt  against  New 
Orleans,  in  the  hope  that  the  half-French  inhabitants 
might  like  the  American  Republic  no  better  than  the 
Canadians  did.  But  the  Louisianians  disliked  the  Eng- 
lish name  ;  and  the  volunteers  and  militia  from  Ten- 
nessee and  Kentucky  aided  them  in  resistance.  Gen- 
eral Andrew  Jackson,  in  command  of  the  American 
forces,  was  vigilant  and  active.  There  were  several 
days  of  sharp  fighting  on  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi. 


Stories  of  American  History. 


On  the  8th  of  January,  1815,  the  decisive  battle  took 
place.     General   Pakenham,  the  leader  of  the  English 


Battle  of  New  Orleans. 


forces,  was  killed  in  an  attack  upon  Jackson's  intrench- 
ment,  and  the  English  army  retreated  with  immense 
loss.  New  Orleans  was  saved,  and  the  8th  of  January 
became  a  national  holiday.  The  title  of  Hero  of  New 


The  Lake   War. 


315 


Orleans  was  made  the  rallying-cry  for  Jackson,  and  in 
1829  he  took  his  seat  as  President  of  the  United  States. 
In  these  days  of  telegraphs  it  is  hard  to  realize  that 
this  battle  was  fought  fifteen  days  after  a  treaty  of 
peace  was  signed  at  Ghent.  Of  the  numbers  engaged 
in  the  battle  there  are  contradictory  accounts.  The 
invading  force  is  stated  at  seven  thousand.  The 
Americans  are  said  to  have  numbered  twelve  thou- 
sand. But  many  of  them  were  without  arms,  and 
employed  in  digging  trenches  and  throwing  up  forti- 
fications, and  the  actual  number  engaged  was  but  a 
fraction  of  the  force.  They  had  the  advantage  of  posi- 
tion, and  the  comparative  loss  of  the  two  armies — two 
thousand  on  the  side  of  the  English,  and  about  four 
hundred  on  the  American — shows  how  great  this  ad- 
vantage was.  War  has  never  been  renewed  between 
England  and  America,  though  controversies  have  oc- 
curred. The  two  nations  were  taught  mutual  respect. 


CHAP.   XXXV.— INDEPENDENCE   OF    LA 
PLATA   AND   VENEZUELA. 

1812 — 1820. 

SY  1812  almost  all  the  revolted  colonies  of  Spain 
had  been  reduced ;  but  in  another  year  they 
were  up  in  arms  again.  On  the  Rio  de  la  Plata, 
Montevideo  held  out  for  Spain,  Buenos  Ayres  for  in- 
dependence, till,  near  the  end  of  1812,  the  former  place 
was  taken.  Five  or  six  thousand  loyalists  gave  up 
their  arms,  and  the  countries  on  the  river  were  free  to 
carry  on  their  quarrels  and  their  lawless  habits  after 
their  own  fashion.  As  La  Plata  means  silver,  they 
took  the  name  of  the  Argentine  Republic,  consisting 
of  thirteen  provinces;  and  they  succeeded  in  defeating 
all  Spanish  attempts  to  reconquer  them,  so  as  to  get 
their  independence  acknowledged  in  1817. 

Bolivar  had  come  back  to  Venezuela  in  1812.  The 
insurrection  in  that  quarter  had  never  been  quite  ex- 
tinguished, but  was  maintained  in  New  Granada  by  a 


Independence  of  La  Plata  and  Venezuela.    317 

youth  of  twenty-two,  Jose  Antonio  Paez.  When 
seventeen,  he  had  been  sent  by  his  uncle,  the  parish 
priest  of  Azanac,  to  carry  a  large  sum  of  money  to 
another  curate.  He  was  mounted  on  a  mule,  and 
armed  with  an  old  sword  and  pistol.  The  lad  was 
foolish  enough  to  tell  his  business  at  the  inn  where  he 
dined,  and  was  in  consequence  pursued  by  two  robbers, 
who  demanded  his  money  or  his  life.  He  shot  one 
man,  and  a  pistol  bursting  wounded  the  other  in  the 
face,  then  rushing  on  them  with  his  sword,  he  put  them 
to  flight.  But  justice  was  so  uncertain  that  he  feared 
revenge,  and  durst  not  return  home.  So  he  betook 
himself  to  the  Llanos,  or  huge  flat  plains,  where  the 
country  is  one  vast  tract  of  grass,  roamed  over  by  large 
herds  of  wild  horses.  The  only  occupation  of  the  in- 
habitants is  herding  them,  catching  and  branding,  and 
sometimes  selling  them.  Paez  hired  himself  out  at  one 
of  these  horse-farms,  under  a  Negro  overseer,  who 
made  him  do  the  most  dangerous  tasks,  undergo  terri- 
ble hardships  in  the  heat  of  the  plains,  and  end  the  day 
in  such  servile  work  as  bringing  water  and  washing  his 
Negro  master's  feet. 

In  1810  Paez  became  a  soldier  in  the  patriot  army, 
but  was  made  prisoner.  Once  he  escaped  being  shot, 
by  the  mere  chance  of  having  borrowed  a  hat  which 
caused  him  to  be  mistaken  for  an  officer,  and  remanded. 


318  Stories  of  American  History. 

A  night  or  two  after,  a  sudden  alarm  made  the  Spanish 
army  break  up  their  camp,  and  leave  their  prisoners,  so 
that  Paez  escaped.  The  story  rose  that  he  had  been 
delivered  by  an  army  of  the  ghosts  of  his  friends,  who 
frightened  away  the  Spaniards. 

After  this,  Paez,  with  a  small  body  of  horsemen, 
resolved  to  try  to  win  the  Llanos,  thinking  that  if  he 
could  prevent  the  Spaniards  from  getting  horses  from 
thence,  the  cause  would  be  gained.  He  was  just  the 
man  to  gain  the  affections  of  the  Llaneros,  having  lived 
their  life,  and  grown  perfect  in  training  the  wildest 
horse,  hunting  down  the  fiercest  bull,  and  killing  the 
alligator  in  his  own  river.  After  gaining  a  victory 
over  General  Don  Rafael  Lopez,  he  succeeded  in  driv- 
ing him  out,  and  the  wild  Llaneros  gladly  flocked  to 
fight  under  such  a  leader.  He  had  the  pleasure  of 
having  the  old  Negro  foreman  brought  to  him  as  a 
prisoner,  and  treated  him  kindly,  only  now  and  then 
teasing  him  by  calling  out  in  his  voice,  "  Jose*  Antonio  ! 
bring  water  for  my  feet ! "  on  which  the  old  man  would 
reply,  "  Boy,  boy,  you  have  not  forgotten  your  tricks ! " 

Mercy,  however,  was  not  common.  The  Spanish 
general,  Monteverde,  barbarously  punished  the  rebels ; 
and  Bolivar  put  forth  a  proclamation  of  "  War  to  the 
Death  ! "  after  which  all  prisoners  were  killed  on  both 
sides.  Beginning  with  only  five  hundred  men,  Bolivar 


Independence  of  La  Plata  and  Venezuela.     319 

drove  Monte verde  out  of  city  after  city  in  Venezuela, 
increasing  his  army  at  every  step;  defeated  Monte- 
verdeat  Lasto-guanes,  and  took  Caracas,  where,  in  1814, 
a  convention  of  officers  proclaimed  Simon  Bolivar  dic- 
tator of  their  new  republic. 

But  the  royalists  rallied  against  him,  and,  as  in  the 
year  1814,  Napoleon  was  overthrown,  and  Ferdinand 
VII  returned  to  the  throne  of  Spain,  troops  were  sent 
to  recover  the  colonies.  General  Morillo,  with  an  im- 
mense army,  and  quantities  of  artillery,  arrived  to  re- 
duce Venezuela  to  obedience.  Bolivar  was  obliged  to 
flee  to  Jamaica  once  more,  and  Morillo  began  to  exer- 
cise cruel  vengeance  on  Venezuela  and  New  Granada. 

Numerous  families  fled  to  the  Llanos,  and  were  re- 
ceived by  Paez.  Their  hardships  were  terrible.  There 
was  nothing  to  eat  but  the  flesh  of  the  wild  cattle, 
nothing  to  wear  but  their  hides,  no  shoes,  no  hats,  no 
shelter,  continual  rains,  and  rivers  overflowing.  The 
refugees  said  they  courted  danger,  to  escape  their  miser- 
able life.  However,  having  caught  and  tamed  enough 
wild  horses  to  mount  everybody,  Paez  chose  one  thou- 
sand of  his  best  men,  and  two  thousand  white  horses, 
because  these  were  said  to  be  the  best  swimmers ;  and, 
each  rider  leading  a  spare  horse,  he  crossed  the  river 
Apure  in  time  of  flood,  fell  on  the  city  of  Barenas  when 
no  enemy  was  dreamt  of,  drove  out  the  Spaniards,  and 


320  Stories  of  American  History. 

brought  back  the  horses,  laden  with  all  that  his  camp 
of  wanderers  required.  Afterward  he  gained  the  city 
of  Achaguas,  and,  in  a  battle  on  the  river  Apure,  de- 
feate,d  and  killed  General  Lopez,  and  established  him- 
self in  that  province. 

General  Morillo,  who  had  come  out  from  Spain,  was 
an  able  captain,  but  he  fancied  the  insurgents  a  mere 
band  of  semi-savages.  He  defeated  Bolivar  at  Ocu- 
mare  in  1816,  and  another  patriot  shortly  after  ;  and 
in  January,  1817,  marched  upon  Paez.  The  battle  of 
Las  Margaritas  had  convinced  Morillo  as  he  wrote, 
that  these  men  were  not  "  a  small  gang  of  cowards." 
Fourteen  times  did  Paez  charge  the  infantry  of  Morillo 
with  his  wild  horsemen,  setting  the  dry  grass  of  the 
Llanos  on  fire,  so  that  if  the  Spaniards  had  not  reached 
a  spot  previously  burnt,  they  would  have  had  no  stand- 
ing-ground. At  last  they  retreated,  and  Bolivar  soon 
after  returning,  the  insurgents  began  harassing  the 
royalists  in  all  the  country  of  the  Orinoco. 

Defeats  befell  the  patriots  again,  and  nothing  but 
the  perseverance  of  Bolivar  could  have  carried  them 
through.  The  two  generals  joined  forces  on  the  Apure, 
where  Morillo  had  a  large  flotilla  of  gunboats ;  and  the 
wonderful  cavalry  of  Paez  did  what  probably  never 
happened  before  in  the  history  of  the  world — captured 
these  boats.  Fifty  mounted  lancers,  \vithout  saddles, 


Independence  of  La  Plata,  and  Venezuela.    321 

dashed  into  the  river,  and  swam  up  to  them,  assisted  by 
their  good  horses,  and  captured  them  all.  Morillo 
then  retreated,  and  the  next  spring,  1819,  lost  another 
battle  at  Angostura. 

A  Congress  was  there  held,  and  Venezuela  and  New 
Granada  agreed  to  unite  in  a  Republic  to  be  called 
Colombia.  They  had  one  more  great  battle  to  fight 
with  General  Torre,  who  had  succeeded  in  the  com- 
mand, Morillo  having  returned  to  Spain.  The  place 
was  Carabobo.  Bolivar  commanded  the  foot,  Paez  the 
horse,  and  they  were  assisted  by  fifteen  hundred 
British  volunteers.  The  Spaniards  had  nine  thousand 
men,  but  were  totally  routed.  The  battle  took  place 
in  June,  1820.  Two  months  later  Bolivar  entered  Ca- 
racas in  triumph,  and  a  constitution  was  formed  for 
Colombia  on  the  model  of  that  of  the  United  States, 
Bolivar  becoming  President,  and  Santander,  who  had 
fought  under  him,  Vice-President. 

In  Brazil,  Joao  VI  had  become  actual  King  of 
Portugal,  by  his  mother's  death  in  1816.  But  he 
remained  in  Brazil  until  1820,  when  a  great  disturbance 
broke  out  at  Lisbon,  and  he  was  forced  to  return  to 
Portugal,  leaving  his  son  Pedro  in  America  as  Viceroy. 


21 


CHAP.   XXXVI.— INSURRECTION    IN 
MEXICO. 

1812 — 1820. 

HE  insurrection  in  Mexico  had  not  been  ex- 
tinguished  by  Hidalgo's  death.  In  fact,  a  land 
like  this,  full  of  mountain-passes,  was  very  hard  to 
conquer,  and  the  inhabitants  were  ready,  all  over  the 
country,  to  live  a  bandit  life.  General  Rayon,  who 
took  the  command  on  Hidalgo's  death,  called  a  Junta, 
which  offered  to  acknowledge  Ferdinand  VII,  if  he 
would  come  out  and  reign  in  Mexico,  as  the  Portu- 
guese sovereigns  were  doing  in  Brazil.  But  Ferdinand 
was  too  fast  in  the  clutches  of  Napoleon,  even  if  the 
proposal  had  been  made  in  earnest. 

Another  priest,  Don  Jose"  Maria  Morelos,  had  dis- 
tinguished himself  by  taking  Acapulco  with  a  very 
small,  ill-armed  force.  In  the  beginning  of  1812  he 
was  at  the  gates  of  Mexico,  and  so  highly  was  he 
esteemed  that  on  the  news  of  his  approach  Don  Jose 


Insurrection  in  Mexico.  323 

Maria  Fernandez  Guadalupe  de  Victoria,  a  rich  young 
lawyer,  twenty-two  years  old,  at  once  went  out  to 
join  him.  The  Viceroy,  Venegas,  sent  for  the  Spanish 
General  Calleja  to  defend  the  capital,  and  received  him 
as  if  he  had  been  a  great  conqueror.  Indeed,  he 
did  come  through  terrible  difficulties  across  a  country 
where  there  were  no  roads,  and  his  men  had  to  cut 
their  way  through  such  a  forest,  that  once  they  took 
twenty-four  hours  in  going  three  miles.  He  was  a 
hard,  vindictive  man,  and  whenever  an  insurgent  place 
fell  into  his  hands,  he  burned  everything  in  it  except 
the  churches  and  convents.  He  and  Venegas  could 
not  agree,  and  he  soon  marched  from  the  city  of  Mex- 
ico to  take  Cuautla.  His  cruelty  made  the  Mexicans 
resolute  to  resist  his  assault.  Every  one  fought  with 
the  utmost  bravery,  Morelos  repulsing  the  assailants, 
and  the  Indians  on  the  roofs  of  the  houses  keeping  up 
such  a  shower  of  stones  that  they  could  not  form  again. 
Then  Calleja  established  a  regular  siege,  sending  for 
artillery  from  Mexico.  Still  Morelos  held  out,  but,  as 
he  had  never  expected  a  regular  siege,  he  had  laid  in  no 
stores  of  victuals,  and  there  was  a  dreadful  famine. 
Bats,  lizards,  rats,  and  mice  were  sold  at  large  prices, 
and  when  an  ox  strayed  near  the  walls  there  was  a 
sharp  fight  to  secure  it.  When  Morelos  attacked  a 
battery  and  drove  out  the  enemy,  there  was  no  keep- 


324  Stories  of  American  History. 

ing  his  soldiers  from  throwing  themselves  on  the  salt 
meat  and  cigars,  and  they  lost  so  much  time  that  they 
were  driven  out  again.  So  Morelos  did  not  venture 
to  attack  the  camp,  being  sure  that  he  could  not  keep 
his  hungry  men  in  order  when  once  they  saw  food. 
But  when  he  could  hold  the  city  no  longer,  he  came 
out  at  midnight  and  marched  his  men  in  dead  silence 
right  through  the  besiegers'  lines.  At  last  they  came 
to  a  hollow  ravine,  over  which  they  had  to  lay  hurdles 
carried  by  the  Indians.  A  sentry  heard  them  and  fired 
his  musket.  The  Spaniards  woke,  but  Morelos  gave 
the  word  for  his  men  to  disperse,  each  man  shifting 
for  himself,  to  meet  again  at  Trucar.  The  Spaniards, 
in  the  confusion,  began  firing  at  each  other,  and  killed 
many  men  before  they  found  out  the  mistake  ;  but 
they  avenged  themselves  by  most  horrid  cruelties  on 
the  unhappy  city  of  Cuautla. 

Morelos  himself  was  hurt  by  a  fall  from  his  horse, 
but  his  army  met  again  with  very  little  loss,  except  of 
the  gallant  Leonardo  Bravo,  who  was  taken  prisoner. 
His  son,  Don  Nicolas,  soon  after  gained  a  success,  in 
which  three  hundred  prisoners  were  taken,  and  Morelos 
made  him  a  free  gift  of  them,  that  he  might  offer  them 
in  exchange  for  his  father's  life.  But  the  Viceroy 
would  not  listen  to  the  offer,  and  caused  Don  Leonar- 
do to  be  immediately  put  to  death.  On  this,  young 


Insurrection  in  Mexico.  325 

Bravo  at  once  released  all  the  three  hundred,  "  to  put 
them  out  of  his  power,"  he  said,  "  lest  in  his  grief  he 
should  be  tempted  to  massacre  them  in  revenge  for 
his  father."  However,  Morelos  soon  gathered  troops 
in  such  numbers,  that,  after  defeating  three  Spanish 
divisions,  he  attacked  the  large  city  of  Oaxaca.  Here 
Captain  Victoria  swam  across  the  moat  sword  in 
hand,  and  cut  the  ropes  of  the  drawbridge  in  the  face 
of  the  enemy,  who  were  so  amazed  that  he  did  not  re- 
ceive a  single  wound.  The  troops  rushed  in  and  took 
the  place.  Acapulco  was  soon  after  taken,  and  then 
Morelos  collected  a  Congress,  and  an  act  of  independ- 
ence was  put  forth  on  the  i3th  of  November,  1813. 
This  was  the  great  wish  of  the  heart  of  Morelos,  but 
from  this  time  a  series  of  disasters  set  in  upon  him. 
He  tried  to  take  the  city  of  Valladolid,  but  was  there 
defeated  by  General  Llano  and  Colonel  Iturbide.  One 
of  his  best  chiefs,  Matamoras,  was  taken,  and  though 
a  large  number  of  Spanish  soldiers  were  offered  in  ex- 
change, the  captive  chief  was  shot  by  order  of  Caileja, 
who  had  been  made  Viceroy  instead  of  Venegas. 
Thenceforth  the  insurgents  shot  all  their  prisoners. 

Iturbide  gained  further  successes,  and  Morelos  was 
obliged  to  escort  the  Congress  from  Oaxaca  to  Pue- 
bla  for  safety.  On  his  way  he  was  surprised  by  two 
bodies  of  the  enemy.  He  commanded  Don  Nicolas 


326  Stories  of  American  History. 

Bravo  to  escort  the  Congress  with  all  the  men  except 
fifty,  with  whom  he  would  do  his  best  to  stop  the 
Spaniards.  Most  deserted  him  as  soon  as  the  firing 
became  hot,  but  he  still  stood  his  ground  so  undaunt- 
edly that  the  royalists  durst  not  come  near  him  till 
only  one  man  was  left  by  his  side.  Still  unhurt,  he 
was  disarmed,  made  prisoner,  and  conducted,  in  chains, 
to  General  Concha.  By  him  the  patriot  leader  was 
treated  with  respect  and  carried  to  Mexico,  where  the 
whole  people  flocked  out  to  gaze  at  him.  He 
showed  great  calmness  and  dignity,  and  said  that,  in 
establishing  the  Congress,  he  had  done  the  work  he 
cared  for  in  his  life,  and  was  willing  to  die.  As  a 
priest,  he  was  given  up  to  the  Inquisition,  and  was  by 
that  tribunal  degraded,  having  all  clerical  insignia  taken 
from  him  one  by  one  in  the  face  of  the  whole  people  ; 
and  this  was  the  only  thing  that  seemed  to  grieve 
him.  Afterward  he  was  given  back  to  "  the  secular 
arm."  He  dined  with  Concha,  whom  he  embraced  and 
thanked  for  his  kindness.  He  was  allowed  to  receive 
the  sacraments,  and  then  was  led  out  to  die.  He 
knelt  and  prayed  aloud  :  "  Lord,  if  I  have  done  well, 
Thou  knowest  it ;  if  ill,  to  Thy  infinite  mercy  I  com- 
mend my  soul."  Then  he  bound  a  handkerchief  round 
his  eyes,  and  gave  the  signal  to  fire.  He  seems  to  have 
been  a  really  good  man,  driven  into  rebellion  by  the 


Insurrection  in  Mexico.  327 

cruelty  and  injustice  of  the  Spaniards.  He  had  given 
his  life  to  save  the  Congress,  but  his  officers  cared 
little  for  that  body  ;  and  there  were  quarrels  between 
Congress  and  the  military,  until,  as  the  royalists 
pushed  them  harder,  the  contest  between  the  civil  and 
military  leaders  resulted  in  rupture.  General  Teran, 
the  soldier  in  command  in  the  province  of  Puebla, 
dispersed  Congress  by  force,  and  the  leaders  fought 
each  for  himself  without  any  plan,  so  that  one  by  one 
they  were  put  down. 

Nicolas  Bravo  held  out  on  the  mountain  of  Coparo 
till  he  was  at  last  forced  to  yield,  and  kept  in  prison. 
Guadalupe  Victoria,  in  the  province  of  Vera  Cruz, 
lived  a  wild  outlaw  life,  and  seized  all  that  did  not 
travel  with  a  strong  escort  between  the  port  and  the 
capital ;  but  at  last  his  band  was  broken  up,  and  he 
wandered  alone  with  nothing  but  his  sword  in  the 
mountain  forests.  There  he  lived  for  three  years ;  in 
the  summer  on  fruits,  in  the  winter  in  such  hunger 
that  he  sometimes  had  to  gnaw  the  bones  of  dead  ani- 
mals which  he  found. 

In  1817  Don  Xavier  Mina,  a  Spaniard  who  had 
been  baffled  in  trying  to  get  a  freer  government  in 
Spain,  made  an  attempt  to  revive  the  cause  of  freedom 
in  Mexico.  He  landed  with  a  body  of  enthusiasts  of 
different  nations,  some  of  whom  were  English.  But 


328 


Stories  of  American  History. 


he  came  just  as  the  insurgents  had  been  crushed,  and 
the  only  leader  in  power  was  a  priest  named  Torres, 
in  the  province  of  the  Baxio,  a  ferocious,  cruel  man? 
who  robbed  and  burned  villages  and  towns  under  the 
pretense  of  cutting  off  the  enemy's  supplies.  After  a 
year  of  fighting,  during  which  Mina  grew  disgusted 
with  his  cause,  he  was  taken  and  shot  in  his  twenty- 
eighth  year.  Torres  was  shortly  after  killed,  and  in 
July,  1819,  the  Viceroy  wrote  to  Madrid  that  the  insur- 
rection was  over,  and  that  he  wanted  no  more  soldiers 
from  Spain. 


Scene  in  Mexico. 


CHAP.   XXXVII.— THE   INDEPENDENCE 
OF   MEXICO. 

1820—1853. 

/TV  HE  Viceroy,  Apodaca,  had  written  to  Spain  that 
-L  the  rebellion  was  entirely  put  down,  but  he  was 
mistaken.  The  battle  had  chiefly  been  fought  by  men 
of  Creole  birth,  commanded  by  officers  in  the  royal 
army  ;  and,  in  times  of  need,  large  promises  of  favor 
had  been  made  them.  As  soldiers  in  the  royal  pay, 
they  had  fought  against  the  patriots  as  bandits,  and 
the  cruelties  on  either  side  had  made  them  bitter 
against  one  another ;  but  when  the  rebellion  was  put 
down,  they  began  to  think  that,  after  all,  it  had  been 
the  cause  of  their  own  country  against  which  they  had 
been  fighting,  and  that  Spain  was  a  hard  mistress,  who 
made  her  colonies  her  slaves. 

Spain  was  in  an  unsettled  state,  and  Ferdinand  VII 
had  been  forced,  in  1819,  into  accepting  a  constitution, 
or  rule,  by  which  the  King  was  checked  by  the  Cortes 


330  Stories  of  American  History. 

or  Parliament,  and  the  Inquisition  was  abolished.  Of 
the  Spaniards  in  Mexico,  some  held  with  the  old  rule, 
some  with  the  new,  which  of  course  they  had  been 
obliged  to  accept.  The  Viceroy,  Apodaca,  thought 
the  Constitution  would  overthrow  religion  and  every- 
thing good,  and  he  resolved  to  proclaim  a  return  to 
loyalty  to  the  King,  not  to  the  King  and  Cortes.  He 
trusted  for  help  to  Don  Agustin  de  Iturbide,  a  Creole 
who  had  risen  to  high  command  for  his  valor  against 
the  insurgents,  and  who  had  been  terribly  cruel.  There 
is  a  letter  of  his  still  existing,  dated  Good  Friday,  1814, 
in  which  he  said  that,  in  honor  of  the  day,  he  had  com- 
manded three  hundred  excommunicated  wretches  to  be 
shot.  The  Spanish  authorities  fulminated  the  decrees 
of  the  Inquisition  against  rebel  prisoners  as  heretics. 

Apodaca,  in  1820,  gave  Iturbide  the  command  of  a 
body  of  troops,  who  were  intended  to  restore  the  power 
of  the  King.  Instead  of  this,  Iturbide  proposed  to 
them  to  maintain  the  independence  of  Mexico,  the 
Catholic  faith,  and  union  among  themselves.  As  they 
guaranteed  these  three  points,  they  called  themselves 
the  Army  of  the  Three  Guarantees.  The  Spaniards  in 
Mexico  deposed  Apodaca  in  their  fright,  and  Iturbide 
continued  to  make  progress.  When  Guadalupe  Vic- 
toria had  disappeared  in  the  forests,  at  the  dispersion 
and  defeat  of  the  insurgents,  he  told  two  Indians  who 


The  Independence  of  Mexico.  331 

were  the  last  to  quit  him,  that,  on  a  certain  rugged 
mountain,  perhaps  they  would  find  his  bones.  As 
soon  as  the  Mexicans  were  again  in  arms  for  their 
country,  these  Indians  went  to  the  spot,  and  spent  six 
weeks  in  searching  the  woods  in  vain,  till,  just  as  they 
were  going  to  give  up  the  quest,  one  of  them  saw 
prints  of  feet  which  must  have  worn  shoes.  He  waited 
two  days  in  case  Victoria  should  return  thither,  and 
then,  being  obliged  to  go  home  and  get  food,  he  hung 
on  a  tree  the  last  meal  he  had,  four  little  maize-cakes. 
Two  days  later  Victoria  came  to  the  spot  and  found 
the  cakes,  when  he  had  been  four  days  without  food, 
and  two  years  without  tasting  bread.  He  hid  himself 
and  waited,  and  in  due  time,  he  saw  his  Indian  friend 
appear,  and  sprang  out  to  meet  him.  The  Indian,  see- 
ing a  spectre-like  figure,  covered  with  hair,  and  no 
clothing  but  an  old  cotton  wrapper,  and  sword  in  hand, 
ran  away  in  terror ;  and  only  on  hearing  himself  called 
by  name,  did  he  turn  back  and  recognize  his  old  mas- 
ter. He  took  him  to  his  home,  and,  no  sooner  was  it 
known  that  Guadalupe  Victoria  was  found,  than  all  the 
old  patriots  of  the  province  rallied  round  him,  and 
marched  with  him  to  join  Iturbide,  who  was  on  his  way 
to  besiege  the  city  of  Mexico.  However,  a  new  Vice- 
roy, Don  Juan  O'Donuju,  had  been  sent  out  by  the 
Liberal  party  in  Spain,  and,  finding  Iturbide  too  strong 


332  Stories  of  American  History. 

for  him,  he  recognized  the  independence  of  Mexico,  in 
the  name  of  King  Ferdinand,  and  gave  up  the  city  of 
Mexico  to  the  Army  of  the  Three  Guarantees,  on  the 
24th  of  August,  1821,  all  the  old  Spanish  party  being 
allowed  to  take  refuge  in  Cuba. 

A  Junta  was  appointed,  and  Iturbide  made  Presi- 
dent-General ;  but  the  old  patriot  party  soon  found 
that  he  was  not  to  be  trusted,  and  Victoria  took  to  the 
woods  again.  A  Congress  was  called  together,  and 
there  were  hot  disputes.  Some  wanted  to  offer  Mexi- 
co as  an  empire  to  the  brother  of  the  King  of  Spain, 
others  to  have  a  republic,  and  those  who  feared  Itur- 
bide's  ambition  wanted  to  reduce  the  army,  of  which 
he  was  general-in-chief.  Thereupon,  he  took  his  meas- 
ures secretly,  and  on  the  i8th  of  May,  1822,  the  ser- 
geants, common  soldiers,  and  beggars,  assembled  be- 
fore his  house,  and  proclaimed  him  Emperor  Agustin  I 
of  Mexico,  with  loud  shouts  of"  Viva!"  and  firing  of 
guns.  He  filled  the  galleries  of  the  hall  of  Congress 
with  his  soldiers,  and  thus  forced  the  deputies  to  accept 
him,  upon  which  Bravo  and  the  other  old  patriots 
withdrew,  as  Victoria  had  done. 

The  new  Emperor  made  demands  upon  the  Con- 
gress which  were  quite  unsuitable  to  any  notions  of 
freedom ;  and  when  these  were  not  granted,  he  first 
arrested  fourteen  of  the  deputies ;  afterward,  when  the 


The  Independence  of  Mexico.  333 

rest  would  not  bend  to  his  will,  he  followed  the  exam- 
ple of  Cromwell  and  Bonaparte,  by  sending  his  soldiers 
to  turn  the  whole  assembly  out  of  its  hall,  and  locking 
the  door. 

His  whole  dependence  was  on  his  army  ;  but,  be- 
fore he  had  reigned  a  year,  he  had  quarreled  with  one 
of  his  chief  officers,  General  Santa  Anna,  Governor  of 
Vera  Cruz,  who  with  his  garrison  declared  that  Itur- 
bide  had  broken  his  oath,  by  dissolving  the  Congress, 
and  pledged  himself  to  get  it  assembled  again.  The 
officer  who  was  sent  against  Santa  Anna  at  once 
turned  against  Iturbide.  Guadalupe  Victoria  once 
more  appearing,  the  chief  command  was  given  to  him  ; 
and  most  of  the  army,  and  all  the  country  besides,  were 
unanimously  against  Agustin  I.  He  called  together 
all  the  members  of  the  old  Congress  then  in  Mexico 
and  offered  to  abdicate.  But  they  said  that  to  accept 
his  abdication  would  be  to  allow  that  he  ever  had  any 
rights,  which  they  denied  that  he  had  ;  but  that  he  and 
his  family  should  be  allowed  to  depart,  and  should  re- 
ceive an  income  of  £5,000  a  year.  He  chose  General 
Bravo  for  his  escort,  and  was  sent  off  in  a  ship  to 
Italy.  However,  he  could  not  rest  there,  and  returned 
to  Mexico  in  1824,  but  was  almost  immediately 
taken  and  shot,  lest  he  should  begin  a  fresh  disturb- 
ance. 


334  Stories  of  American  History. 

Victoria,  Bravo,  and  Negrete  managed  affairs  while 
a  fresh  Congress  was  being  elected  to  decide  on  the 
new  form  of  government.  It  was  to  be  a  federal  re- 
public, after  the  fashion  of  the  United  States.  There 
were  thirteen  provinces,  reaching  from  Guatemala  to 
the  river  Colorado,  Texas  being  the  most  northerly  ; 
and  five  more  thinly  settled  territories,  Tlascala,  New 
Mexico,  Colima,  and  Old  and  New  California,  these 
last  lying  westward  of  the  United  States.  There 
was  a  Congress,  divided  into  a  House  of  Deputies 
and  a  Senate  ;  a  President  and  a  Vice-President, 
each  to  hold  office  for  four  years,  and,  unlike  the 
American  President,  never  to  be  re-elected  for  the 
next  term  of  office.  The  President  and  all  officers  of 
government  were  always  to  be  Mexicans,  but  the 
clergy  of  all  degrees  might  come  from  any  country. 
The  Mexican  Congress  declared  that  no  form  of  relig- 
ion but  the  Roman  Catholic  should  be  tolerated,  and 
did  not  interfere  with  the  property  of  the  Church,  but 
abolished  the  Inquisition.  The  Mexicans  were,  how- 
ever, put  into  great  difficulties  by  the  Pope,  who 
viewed  them  all  as  rebels,  and  refused  to  sanction  their 
appointments  to  bishoprics.  Thus  the  Mexican  Church 
has  been  left  to  itself,  and  as  the  people  were  terribly 
ignorant,  though  devout,  superstition  has  grown 
worse  on  one  side,  and  misbelief  or  infidelity  on  the 


The  Independence  of  Mexico.  335 

other.  This  division  of  the  people  introduced  the  mat- 
ter of  religion  into  the  feuds  and  dissensions  of  the 
republic.  Though  several  of  the  priests  before  the 
revolution  were  distinguished  as  patriots  and  even  as 
soldiers,  the  great  body  of  the  clergy  remained  conserv- 
ative, and  with  them  were  joined  a  large  portion  of 
the  better  class  of  people.  On  the  other  side  were 
those  of  no  religion,  and  those  who,  still  adhering  nom- 
inally to  their  superstition,  hated  the  priesthood  for 
its  exactions,  and  who  discovered  how  little  morality 
and  how  little  sincerity  many  of  the  priests  possessed. 
In  a  word,  the  popular  party,  mixing  religion  and  poli- 
tics, understanding  neither,  and  debasing  both,  became 
a  party  of  destructives.  Brigandage  prevailed  ;  some- 
times dignified  with  the  name  of  patriotism,  often  rob- 
bery pure  and  simple.  While  the  country  districts 
were  unsafe,  the  cities  harbored  gamblers,  thieves,  and 
idlers.  Even  the  better  and  more  prominent  men  were 
not  free  from  the  first  of  these  vices.  Public  buildings, 
roads,  churches,  and  monasteries  were  destroyed,  and 
the  proof  of  manliness  was  to  strike  at  anything  good 
which  had  been  Spanish,  and  was  still  preserved  by 
the  conservative  party.  Nothing  was  repaired,  the 
cities  had  no  police,  and  there  was  really  no  govern- 
ment. The  Spaniards,  in  their  two  centuries  of  rule 
had  more  than  restored  the  damage  they  had  done  in 


336  Stories  of  American  History. 

their  conquest ;  but  independent  Mexico  relapsed  into 
a  far  worse  condition  than  she  was  in  under  Aztec  do- 
minion. 

In  1853  Santa  Anna,  then  an  exile,  was  recalled  by 
the  Mexicans  and  made  Dictator.  The  history  of 
this  man  is  truly  remarkable.  He  was  a  distinguished 
soldier  in  the  war  of  the  Mexican  Revolution,  and  was 
the  first  to  proclaim  the  Mexican  Republic  in  1822. 
All  his  life  he  was  appearing,  disappearing,  and  reap- 
pearing in  Mexican  affairs  ;  now  dictator,  now  in  exile, 
now  at  the  head  of  the  army,  and  then  in  prison.  In 
the  time  he  had  been  upon  the  stage,  some  thirty 
changes  of  government  had  succeeded  each  other-; 
during  which  Mexico  had  lost  the  Central  American 
provinces  and  Texas  and  California.  His  recall  was 
followed  of  course  by  his  expulsion.  He  was  unques- 
tionably the  most  able  man  that  Mexico  had  produced, 
though  in  his  nature  he  shared  in  the  cruel  ferocity 
which  seemed  inseparable  from  the  character  of  Mexi- 
can leaders. 


CHAP.  XXXVIIL— THE    EMPEROR    MAXI- 
MILIAN. 


1858—1882. 

V/l  EANTIME  out  of  the  chaos  in  Mexico  rose,  in 
J  1858,  Benito  Juarez,  "  le  petit  Indien?  as  the 
French  styled  him,  from  his  parentage.  He  seized 
Vera  Cruz,  where  he  could  command  the  customs, 
revenues,  and  confiscated  church  property  to  replenish 
his  coffers.  He  even  knocked  down  church-buildings, 
and  sold  their  sites.  It  is  said  that  a  Belgian  was  the 
purchaser  of  one  church  for  ,£19  los.  All  this  made 
him  the  idol  of  the  anti-clerical  party.  He  was  elected 
President  of  the  Republic,  and  executed  the  decrees 
against  the  Church  with  great  severity.  The  foreign 
commercial  residents  in  Mexico,  thinking  they  had 
found  at  last  a  powerful,  strong-handed  man  who 
could  settle  the  government,  made  him  large  loans  for 
that  purpose,  to  repay  which  the  revenues  of  the  cus- 
toms were  pledged  by  Juarez.  But  payment  was 


22 


338  Stories  of  American  History. 

evaded  or  refused,  and  after  Juarez  decreed  suspension 
for  two  years  of  the  pledge  of  the  customs  and  the  pay- 
ment of  foreign  debts,  his  course  brought  the  combined 
demand  of  England,  France,  and  Spain  for  indemnity 
and  reparation.  A  fleet,  composed  of  vessels  of  the 
three  nations,  appeared  in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  Vera 
Cruz  was  occupied,  and  the  threat  made  to  advance 
upon  the  capital.  An  armistice  was  held,  to  the  terms 
of  which  Louis  Napoleon  refused  his  assent ;  and  Eng- 
land and  Spain,  suspecting  his  ulterior  designs,  with- 
drew. The  French  troops  still  remained.  In  1862, 
the  French  finally  declared  war  against  Juarez,  and 
were  joined  by  adherents  of  the  clerical  party.  France 
had  indeed  entered  into  the  civil  war  in  Mexico  under 
the  Old  rule  "  divide  and  conquer."  The  other  Euro- 
pean nations  held  aloof,  the  United  States  exercised 
diplomatic  pressure  against  France  ;  but  her  troops 
pressed  on,  took  the  city  of  Puebla  by  siege,  and  on 
the  loth  of  June  occupied  the  city  of  Mexico.  Juarez 
fled  from  the  capital,  and  transferred  his  seat  of  govern- 
ment to  San  Luis  Potosi. 

A  provisional  government  was  established,  of  course 
in  the  anti-Juarez  interest.  An  "  Assembly  of  No- 
tables "  was  summoned,  representing  the  clerical  party, 
with  some  others,  perhaps,  who  were  ready  to  follow 
any  road  out  of  anarchy.  The  Notables  decided  on  a 


The  Emperor  Maximilian.  339 

limited  hereditary  monarchy,  with  a  Catholic  prince 
for  sovereign.  The  crown  was  offered  to  Maximil- 
ian, Archduke  of  Austria,  and  younger  brother  of  the 
Emperor,  and  accepted  by  him.  With  his  newly- 
married  wife,  Charlotte,  daughter  of  Leopold,  King  of 
Belgium,  he  sailed  for  Mexico,  and  was  warmly  wel- 
comed, June,  1864,  by  the  clerical  party.  He  was  a 
fine,  high-spirited  young  prince  of  thirty-four,  full  of 
eagerness  to  do  good.  But  Juarez  was  still  in  the 
field,  and  the  larger  part  of  the  nation  were  determined 
to  accept  no  foreign  government.  The  Emperor  and 
Empress  were  excellent  people,  who  longed  to  bring 
the  restless  nation  into  good  order.  But  they  were 
not  as  clever  as  they  were  good,  and  were  too  German 
to  suit  those  tropical  people,  the  Mexicans,  who  hated 
their  simple,  earnest  activity  and  honesty.  The  na- 
tional pride  of  the  Mexicans  chafed,  besides,  at  having 
French  soldiers  everywhere. 

The  young  Emperor  had  fallen  into  the  hands  of 
bad  advisers.  His  Mexican  counselors  tempted  him 
into  Mexican  practices.  He  issued  a  proclamation  in 
1865,  declaring  the  republic  extinct  in  law  and  in  fact, 
by  the  close  of  the  term  of  Juarez  and  the  vacancy  of 
the  presidency.  Juarez  replied  that  he  was  President 
till  another  could  be  elected.  In  the  same  proclama- 
tion Maximilian  threatened  death  to  persons  taken  in 


34-O  Stories  of  American  History. 

armed  resistance  against  his  government.  Under  this 
edict  many  estimable  and  popular  officers  were  put  to 
death,  and  the  army  of  Juarez  gained  strength  in  vol- 
unteers and  recruits.  Furthermore,  Maximilian  lost  re- 
spect by  consenting  to  the  restoration  of  slavery,  and 
other  abuses,  which  in  his  heart  he  condemned.  More 
trouble  awaited  him.  The  United  States  had,  all  the 
time,  recognized  the  Republic  of  Mexico,  and  refused 
recognition  of  the  prince,  who,  they  said,  had  thrust 
himself  where  nobody  wanted  him.  The  United  States 
having  conquered  its  own  difficulty,  strong  represen- 
tations were  made  to  the  French  Government  against 
the  presence  of  French  soldiers  in  Mexico.  Denied  at 
the  outset  support  from  England  and  Spain,  finding 
moral  support  nowhere,  and  pressed  by  the  great  ex- 
pense of  the  army  in  Mexico,  Napoleon  withdrew  his 
troops  in  1866,  and  the  Empress  went  to  Europe  to 
beg  assistance.  It  was  in  vain.  Maximilian  was  en- 
treated to  abdicate  when  the  French  departed,  but  felt 
bound  in  honor  to  remain.  The  nation  rose  against 
him.  He  made  a  brave  defense,  but  on  the  night  of 
May  14,  1867,  was  betrayed  into  the  hands  of  his 
enemies  by  one  of  his  officers,  who  is  said  to  have  re- 
ceived 3,000  golden  ounces  for  his  treachery.  With 
two  of  his  generals  the  Emperor  was  tried  by  court- 
martial  and  shot.  The  European  ministers  protested 


The  Emperor  Maximilian.  341 

in  vain  against  this  breach  of  the  laws  of  war.  But  it 
was  no  departure  from  Mexican  precedent.  The 
charges  against  him  were  based  on  his  unfortunate  de- 
cree, under  which  the  officers  of  Juarez  had  been  shot, 
and  the  two  Mexicans  who  were  executed  with  him 
were  implicated  in  that  unhappy  measure.  "  Poor 
Charlotte ! "  he  was  heard  to  murmur,  as  he  dropped 
the  handkerchief  as  a  signal  to  his  executioners.  Well 
might  he  say  so ;  for,  shocked  at  his  misfortunes,  she 
became  hopelessly  insane. 

The  Mexican  comment  on  these  transactions  was 
the  election  of  Juarez  as  President,  in  the  autumn  of 
the  same  year.  Re-elected  in  1871,  he  died  in  office 
in  1872.  The  character  of"le  petit  Indien "  is  open 
to  many  charges,  but  his  ability  and  patriotism  are  un- 
questioned. Mexico  still  remains  a  republic,  though 
it  can  not  forget  its  old  propensity  to  rebellion  and  civil 
war.  Its  prospects  just  now  seem  to  brighten.  There 
has  been  no  rebellion  for  six  years,  and  the  present 
President,  Gonzales,  was  quietly  chosen  in  1880.  The 
Panama  Railway,  since  it  immensely  shortens  England's 
communication  with  her  Australian  colonies,  makes 
peace  very  important.  Though  not  traversing  Mexican 
territory,  it  has  its  influence  over  her  through  her 
neighbors.  In  Mexico  proper  there  are  more  than 
five  hundred  miles  of  railway,  the  latest  in  construction 


342 


Stories  of  American  History. 


connecting  the  republic  with  the  United  States.  Se- 
curity for  trade  is  promoted,  and  the  condition  of  Mex- 
ico is  now  better  than  ever  before. 

One  truly  hopeful  sign  of  light  appears.  Some  of 
the  devout  and  better  educated  of  the  Mexican  clergy, 
aided  by  the  missionaries,  money,  and  sympathy  of 
members  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  the 
United  States,  are  founding  a  new  church  organization, 
which  promises  to  give  vitality  to  the  old  stock ;  reject- 
ing errors  and  superstitions,  but  retaining  its  histori- 
cal continuity.  The  name  chosen  is  "  The  Church  of 
Jesus." 


CHAP.   XXXIX.— INDEPENDENCE   OF 
CHILI,   PERU,  AND    BRAZIL. 

1817—1882. 

/T\HE  Chilian  revolt  had  been  put  down  by  Spain 
J-  in  1813;  but  by  1817  the  patriots  were  up  in 
arms  again.  The  Argentine  Republic,  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  continent,  sent  them  help,  and  they  defeated 
the  Spaniards  at  Chacabuco. 

Thereupon  they  proclaimed  a  republic,  with  General 
San  Martin  at  its  head ;  but  in  the  midst  of  their  ar- 
rangements the  royalists  gave  them  a  severe  beating. 
However,  success  made  the  Spaniards  careless,  and 
the  Chilians  won  another  great  victory  on  the  plain  of 
Maypu.  But  what  was  worth  much  more  to  them  was 
the  volunteered  aid  of  Thomas  Alexander,  Lord  Coch- 
rane,  afterward  Earl  of  Dundonald.  He  had  fought 
bravely  under  the  British  flag ;  but,  on  a  false  accusa- 
tion about  money  matters,  had  been  dismissed.  He 
came  to  his  title  and  estates  in  1831,  and  was  restored 


344  Stories  of  American  History. 

to  his  rank  in  the  navy,  and  as  Knight  of  the  Bath. 
Meanwhile  he  sailed  about  the  world,  tendering  his 
sword  wherever  love  of  adventure  or  of  freedom  led 
him.  He  came  with  his  family  to  Valparaiso,  entered 
the  service  of  Chili,  and  with  numerous  English  sailors 
and  officers  set  himself  as  resolutely  as  Drake  or  Haw- 
kins of  old  to  drive  the  Spanish  flag  from  the  Pacific, 
not  only  from  the  Chilian  but  from  the  Peruvian  har- 
bors. Sailing  for  the  great  harbor  of  Callao  with  seven 
vessels,  two  fire-ships,  and  four  hundred  soldiers,  he 
sent  a  flag  to  challenge  the  Viceroy  of  Peru  to  fight 
him,  ship  for  ship.  The  challenge  was  declined,  and  he 
resolved  instead  to  attack  Valdivia ;  because  it  was 
deemed  so  impossible  of  capture  that  the  enemy  would 
not  be  on  their  guard.  He  could  take  with  him  upon 
this  enterprise  but  three  ships,  and  his  own  was  so 
badly  strained  that  he  could  only  keep  it  afloat  by 
pumping  continually ;  and  to  encourage  his  men  he 
took  his  spell  at  the  pumps  with  his  own  hands. 

Valdivia  was  very  strong,  and  defended  by  nine 
forts ;  but  they  were  far  apart,  and  he  made  a  dash  at 
them  one  by  one.  His  boldness  so  dismayed  the 
Spaniards  that  they  surrendered  the  whole  city  to  him 
on  the  5th  of  February,  1820.  He  went  on  sailing  up 
and  down  the  coast,  seizing  Spanish  ships ;  and  on  one 
of  these  voyages  was  dismayed  to  see  his  little  boy  of 


Independence  of  Chili,  Peru,  and  Brazil.     345 

five  years  old  perched  on  an  officer's  back,  waving  his 
cap  and  shouting  "  Viva  la  Patria  /  "  having  run  away 
from  home  and  got  on  board. 

One  night  a  Spaniard  broke  into  Cochrane's  house, 
which  was  a  little  way  out  of  Valparaiso,  and  threatened 
his  wife  with  death,  unless  she  would  reveal  the  secret 
orders  with  which  her  husband  had  sailed.  She  refused, 
and  the  man  had  actually  once  stabbed  her  with  a  sti- 
letto when  her  servants  came  in  and  saved  her. 

Cochrane  made  a  descent  on  the  rocky  islet  of 
San  Lorenzo,  near  Callao,  with  a  fort  upon  it,  in  which 
he  found  thirty-seven  Chilian  prisoners,  working  in 
manacles,  and  chained  at  night  by  the  leg  to  an  iron 
bar.  He  made  it  a  manufactory  of  rockets  and  muni- 
tions for  fire-ships  ;  and  sailed  about  capturing  Span- 
ish treasure-ships.  He  sent  parties  to  seize  the  trains 
of  mules  laden  with  treasure  coming  down  from  the 
mines  in  the  Andes.  On  the  3d  of  November,  1820, 
he  sailed  with  a  fifty-gun  frigate  through  the  nar- 
row passage  between  San  Lorenzo  and  the  mainland, 
entering  the  harbor  of  Callao  by  a  way  in  which  it 
was  thought  no  large  ships  could  come.  That  same 
day  tidings  were  brought  that  the  city  of  Guayaquil 
had  proclaimed  its  independence,  and  sent  off  its 
Spanish  governor,  without  shedding  a  drop  of  blood. 
There  was  only  one  large  ship  of  war  in  Callao  Harbor, 


346  Stories  of  American  History. 

but  there  were  four  lesser  ones,  and  fifteen  gunboats, 
protected  by  the  batteries  on  shore.  On  the  night  of 
the  5th,  Cochrane,  with  two  hundred  and  fifty  men  in 
boats,  stole  up  to  the  huge  Spanish  ship,  the  Esme- 
ralda.  Springing  up  the  side  of  the  ship,  Cochrane 
shot  the  sentry,  and  shouted  to  his  men  :  "  Up,  my 
lads  ;  she's  ours ! "  There  was  much  hard  fighting  be- 
fore she  was  won,  and  Cochrane  was  slightly  wounded. 
But  he  captured  the  ship,  with  three  hundred  and 
twenty  men  in  her,  and  thus  did  the  greatest  exploit 
in  the  war. 

Peru  had  remained  quiet  under  colonial  rule,  but  the 
republics  of  Colombia  on  the  north,  and  Chili  on  the 
south,  felt  it  needful  to  root  out  the  power  of  Spain. 
While  Cochrane  was  attacking  Callao,  which  is  the 
seaport  of  Lima,  General  San  Martin  with  a  Chilian 
army  besieged  Lima,  and  on  its  yielding,  the  independ- 
ence of  Peru  was  proclaimed  in  1821.  The  royalists 
were  strong,  however ;  they  regained  possession  of  the 
city,  and  there  was  a  good  deal  more  fighting.  Gen- 
eral Bolivar  led  an  army  from  Colombia  in  1822,  gained 
a  great  victory  at  Pichincha,  and  took  Quito.  He 
then  marched  upon  Lima,  which  the  royalists  evacuated 
at  his  approach  ;  but  their  forces,  under  General  Rodil, 
threw  themselves  into  the  forts  of  Callao.  At  last,  in 
1824,  the  battle  of  Ayacucho  finally  broke  the  strength 


Independence  of  Chili,  Peru,  and  Brazil.     347 

of  the  Spaniards,  though  Callao  held  out,  with  true 
Spanish  constancy,  through  eighteen  months  of 
blockade,  and  only  surrendered  in  1826.  General 
San  Martin  was  declared  Protector  of  Peru  in  1821, 
but  in  1822  summoned  a  Congress,  into  whose  hands 
he  resigned  all  his  authority,  quitting  the  service  of 
Peru  in  disgust.  He  refused  all  money  grants,  but  ac- 
cepted the  public  recognition  of  his  valor  and  integ- 
rity. He  retired  to  Chili,  and  thence  to  Europe.  The 
Peruvian  Congress  conferred  upon  him  the  honorary 
title  of  Generalissimo  and  Founder  of  the  Liberty  of 
Peru,  and  gave  Cochrane  public  thanks  for  his  services. 
Upper  Peru,  namely,  the  southern  part,  which  con- 
tains the  higher  Andes  and  the  mines  of  Potosi, 
refused  to  belong  to  Buenos  Ayres,  but  requested  Boli- 
var to  form  a  constitution  for  it  as  a  separate  state, 
and  called  itself,  after  his  name,  Bolivia.  He  gave  it 
a  President  for  life,  who  was  to  have  power  to  name 
his  successor.  Bolivar  was  accused  of  intending  to  join 
this  new  state  with  Peru  and  Colombia,  and  make  him- 
self perpetual  Dictator.  However,  he  was  so  really 
honest  that  the  Colombians  soon  felt  him  to  be  their 
only  safe  head,  and  he  was  elected  President  in  1828. 
He  kept  the  chief  power  in  Colombia  till  his  resigna- 
tion in  1830.  His  death  occurred  in  the  same  year. 
Peru,  which  had  elected  him  perpetual  Dictator,  had 


348  Stories  of  American  History. 

meanwhile  cast  him  off,  and  proclaimed  a  President. 
But  he  was  a  truly  great  man.  He  had  spent  almost 
all  his  fortune  in  the  cause  of  South  American  liberty ; 
and,  though  he  had  much  public  money  in  his  hands, 
he  died  poor.  He  had  done  great  good  in  improv- 
ing law  and  justice,  and  bringing  in  education  ;  but  he 
found  it  a  weary  and  disappointing  task,  and  was 
followed  by  constant  suspicion  and  dislike.  In  truth, 
these  men  of  Spanish  and  half-caste  or  mestizo  birth 
were  unfit  for  free  institutions  ;  and  the  fifty  years  that 
have  passed  since  their  emancipation  have  been  full 
of  disturbances  and  revolutions.  Shortly  before  his 
death,  Bolivar  issued  a  farewell  address,  vindicating  his 
character ;  and  his  countrymen  have  done  him  the 
tardy  justice  which  death  procures  for  great  men.  In 
1842  his  remains  were  removed  from  their  first  humble 
place  of  sepulture,  and  interred  at  Caracas,  where  a  tri- 
umphal arch  was  erected  to  his  memory. 

The  South  American  republics  are  Ecuador  or 
Equator  —  containing  the  seaport  of  Guayaquil  — 
Colombia,  Peru,  Bolivia,  Paraguay,  Uruguay,  the  Ar- 
gentine Republic,  and  Chili.  Patagonia  remains  un- 
settled and  in  the  possession  of  the  natives.  England 
France,  and  Holland,  retain  their  possessions  in  Gui- 
ana. Brazil  remained  nominally  united  to  Portugal 
till  1826.  When  John  VI,  or  Joao,  with  the  royal 


Independence  of  Chili,  Peru,  and  Brazil.     349 

family  of  Portugal,  fled  to  Brazil  in  1807,  Dom  Pedro, 
the  heir  to  the  Portuguese  throne,  was  taken  with 
him.  In  1821,  John  VI  returned  to  Portugal,  and  left 
Dom  Pedro  as  Prince  Regent  in  Brazil.  When  in 
1822  the  Brazilians  made  their  demonstration  for  in- 
dependence, they  took  a  middle  course  and  elected 
the  Regent  Emperor  of  Brazil,  with  the  title  of  Pedro 
I.  The  republicans  in  some  districts  refused  submis- 
sion ;  and  Cochrane,  who  had  left  Chili,  gave  his 
services  to  Dom  Pedro.  The  malcontents  were  sup- 
pressed, and  the  area  of  Brazil  widened,  and  Cochrane 
was  created  by  the  Emperor  Marquis  of  Maranham. 
In  1825  Dom  Pedro  I  was  recognized  by  the  Portu- 
guese Cortes;  and  in  1826,  his  father  having  died,  he 
claimed  the  crown  of  Portugal,  but  resigned  in  favor 
of  his  daughter,  Maria  de  Gloria.  His  Brazilian  sub- 
jects grew  discontented,  and  demanded  a  constitution 
like  that  of  England.  Dom  Pedro  I  could  not  make 
up  his  mind  to  grant  this,  and  abdicated  in  1831  in 
favor  of  his  son  Pedro,  then  about  five  years  old,  now 
reigning  in  Brazil  as  Dom  Pedro  II.  Leaving  his  son 
to  be  educated  by  his  ministry,  Pedro  I  returned  to 
Europe,  and  replaced  his  daughter  on  the  throne  of 
Portugal,  which  had  been  usurped  by  her  uncle  Mi- 
guel. The  double  abdicator,  Dom  Pedro  I,  died  in 
1834. 


B 


CHAP.   XL. —  THE   EMANCIPATION    OF 
NEGROES  IN  THE  ENGLISH  ISLES. 

1772—1838. 

LL  this  time  a  great  question  affecting  America 
was  being  fought  out  in  England.  It  was  the 
question  whether  it  was  right,  toward  God  or  toward 
man,  that  one  human  being  might  be  seized  and  made 
the  property  of  another,  like  a  sheep  or  an  ox. 

Good  men  took  it  up,  and  tried  to  argue  it  out. 
They  said  slavery  was  allowed  by  the  Bible,  and  even 
in  Christian  times,  and  that  Negroes  were  too  dull  to 
think  for  themselves,  and  that,  though  strong  to  work 
in  hot  climates,  they  were  so  lazy  that  they  must  be 
made  to  work,  and  that  it  was  better  for  them  to  be 
slaves  than  savages.  On  the  other  hand,  it  was  argued 
that,  in  the  state  of  society  under  the  Old  Testament, 
if  prisoners  of  war  had  not  been  enslaved  they  must 
have  been  slaughtered,  and  likewise  that  the  law 
guarded  slaves  carefully  from  cruelty ;  the  Gospel  had 


Negroes  Emancipated  in  the  English  Isles.  351 

so  worked  on  men's  hearts  that  gradually  freedom  had 
come  to  all  slaves  in  Christian  lands,  and  that  it  had 
been  really  going  back  to  heathen  ways  to  enslave  Ne- 
groes. Moreover,  though  a  good  man  might  train  his 
slaves  well,  many  only  used  them  like  tools,  left  them 
in  gross  vice  and  ignorance,  and  worked  them  harder, 
and  used  them  far  more  barbarously,  than  the  law  of 
Moses  had  ever  permitted. 

The  first  step  to  a  better  state  of  things  was  made 
by  Mr.  Granville  Sharp  in  1772,  when  he  took  up  the 
cause  of  a  Negro  named  Somerset,  whom  his  master 
had  brought  from  the  West  Indies,  and  claimed  as  his 
property  to  take  back.  The  judges  decided  that  no 
one  is  a  slave  in  Britain,  and  that  a  slave  thus  becomes 
free  from  the  moment  he  touches  the  soil  of  the  British 
Isles. 

Then  Thomas  Clarkson  and  William  Wilberforce 
set  themselves  to  stop  the  slave-trade,  namely,  the  act- 
ual stealing  of  men  and  women  from  the  coast  of 
Guinea,  and  selling  them  in  America.  It  was  a  twenty 
years'  struggle.  Wilberforce  began  in  1787,  and  went 
on  every  year  bringing  his  bill  before  the  House  of 
Commons;  but  it  was  not  till  1807  that  his  persever- 
ance at  last  succeeded  in  getting  a  bill  passed  which 
made  it  unlawful  for  Englishmen  or  English  ships  to 
be  men-stealers. 


35 2  Stories  of  American  History. 

But  this  was  of  little  use  while  other  nations  went 
on  with  the  horrid  traffic,  so  the  rest  were  asked  to 
pass  the  same  law.  The  United  States  did  so  at  once ; 
and  so  did  the  republics  of  Chili,  Venezuela,  and  Bue- 
nos Ayres  ;  and  Sweden  and  Denmark,  Holland  and 
France,  when  the  great  peace  of  1814  was  made. 

But  Spain  and  Portugal  wanted  to  be  paid  for  the 
loss,  and  even  then  Portugal  only  abolished  the  slave- 
trade  north  of  the  equator,  and  promised  to  put  an  end 
to  it  in  eight  years ;  and  Spain  made  the  same  promise, 
but  did  not  keep  it.  Indeed,  the  laws  were  of  little  use 
when  there  was  no  one  to  put  them  in  force,  and  high 
prices  could  be  had  for  blacks  all  over  the  hotter  parts 
of  America.  So  by  further  laws,  agreed  upon  by  the 
nations,  it  was  ruled  that  slave-trading  ships  should  be 
dealt  with  as  pirates,  and  a  right  of  search  was  granted. 
British  ships  were  kept  cruising  in  the  Atlantic  to 
search  any  vessel  suspected  of  being  a  slaver,  and  seize 
it  if  any  slaves  were  found  on  board.  It  was  seldom 
possible  to  return  the  poor  Negroes  to  their  homes, 
since  they  had  generally  been  captured  by  some  fierce 
tribe,  and  therefore  the  British  settlement  of  Sierra 
Leone,  in  Africa,  which  had  been  already  begun  for 
liberated  slaves,  was  made  into  an  abode  for  them  to 
be  trained  in  civilization  and  Christianity. 

High  prices  still  tempted  the  lawless  men  of  all 


Negroes  Emancipated  in  the  English  Isles.   353 

nations  to  run  all  the  risks  of  carrying  on  the  slave- 
trade  ;  and  the  miseries  of  the  wretched  captives  were 
increased  as  the  vessels  were  made  as  small,  light,  and 


Negro  Slaves  harvesting  Sugar-Cane. 

swift  as  possible.  The  slaves  were  hidden  between 
decks  in  a  fearfully  crowded  state,  jammed  together 
standing,  and  with  so  little  air,  water,  or  food,  that 
numbers  died,  and  the  horrors  and  sufferings  were  un- 
speakable. Nothing  could  cure  this  while  slaves  could 
23 


354  Stories  of  American  History. 

still  be  bought  and  sold,  and  Thomas  Powell  Buxton 
and  Henry  Brougham  (both  at  that  date  untitled) 
were  working  to  do  away  entirely  with  slavery  in  Eng- 
lish possessions.  If  coffee,  sugar,  and  cotton  could  not 
be  grown  without  slave-labor,  it  was  better,  many 
thought,  to  do  without  them  altogether.  There  were 
difficulties  in  the  way,  for  it  was  unjust  to  ruin  the 
West  India  planters,  and  the  Negroes  needed  to  be 
trained  for  freedom.  Reports  that  their  liberty  had 
been  decreed  came  to  Jamaica  in  1831,  and  they  rose 
upon  their  masters,  committed  sundry  murders,  and 
they  burned  plantations,  so  that  it  was  feared  that  the 
Haitian  horrors  would  be  repeated.  However,  they 
were  put  down  by  force  of  arms,  and  in  1833  a  grant  of 
twenty  million  pounds  was  made  to  compensate  the 
owners,  and  on  the  ist  of  January,  1834,  eight  hundred 
thousand  slaves  were  set  free.  They  were  to  serve  as 
apprentices  to  their  masters  for  six  years,  but  this  was 
found  not  to  answer.  The  Negroes  could  not  under- 
stand their  semi-freedom,  and  by  1838  this  apprentice- 
ship was  given  up,  and  there  was  not  a  slave  in  the 
British  dominions. 

The  loss  was  heavy.  The  Negroes  just  released 
would  not  work  when  they  were  not  obliged.  In  the 
West  Indian  climate  the  very  smallest  labor  suffices  to 
produce  plenty  of  food,  and  the  Negroes  did  not  care 


Negroes  Emancipated  in  the  English  Isles.  355 

for  anything  more.  In  the  sugar  and  rum  manufac- 
tures, and  all  else  that  had  made  the  isles  rich  and  pros- 
perous, there  was  a  falling  off  to  the  extent  of  three 
fourths  or  more,  and  in  some  plantations  production 
was  entirely  given  up,  and  many  families  were  ruined. 
Yet  the  evils  of  slavery  are  so  great  that  even  at  this 
cost  its  abolition  was  well  gained.  There  were  cases, 
more  frequent  than  otherwise,  in  which  the  master  was 
good,  and  felt  the  responsibility  of  his  charges ;  but  the 
misfortune  was  that  there  was  no  effectual  legal  mode 
to  prevent  power  from  being  so  used  as  to  be  cruel  to 
the  slave,  and  ruinous  to  the  character  of  the  master. 
Public  opinion  and,  what  is  better  than  that,  conscience, 
did  not  affect  those  who  most  needed  control. 

The  liberation  of  the  West  Indian  slaves,  and  the 
injury  to  the  plantations,  enhanced  the  value  of  slaves 
where  slavery  still  existed.  Other  causes  operated  to 
raise  the  value  of  slave  products.  In  the  southernmost 
of  the  United  States,  especially  in  the  rice-swamps  and 
on  the  sugar-plantations,  where  it  was  thought  only 
Negroes  could  possibly  labor,  their  work  was  harder ; 
and  the  price  of  an  able-bodied  man  or  woman,  and 
even  of  children,  was  raised  to  an  extravagant  sum. 
Slavery  was  chiefly  profitable  in  a  new  soil,  and  in 
raising  peculiar  staples.  In  Virginia,  where  the  soil 
was  worked  out  by  tobacco  and  farm  crops,  and  in 


356  Stories  of  American  History. 

other  Middle  State  districts,  people  used  to  sell  their 
superfluous  slaves  to  the  South,  taking  children  from 
their  parents,  and  entirely  disregarding  the  tie  of  mar- 
riage. The  child  of  a  slave-mother  was  always  the 
slave  of  her  master,  whoever  the  child's  father  might  be. 
In  a  free  land,  an  objectionable  servant  can  be  dis- 
charged, or  a  useless  one  dismissed.  Under  the  slave- 
system  the  only  way  to  reduce  the  expense,  or  get  rid 
of  a  bad  servant,  was  to  sell. 

Yet  the  more  the  abolitionists  tried  to  make  the 
Northern  States  ashamed  of  the  institution  with  which 
they  were  politically  associated,  the  more  the  Southern 
States  prided  themselves  upon  it.  There  always  had 
been  a  jealousy  between  the  two  divisions,  and  it  grew 
worse  and  worse.  The  free  and  slave  States  were  equal 
in  number,  for  whenever  a  free  State  was  admitted  at 
the  North,  another  slave  State  was  made  at  the  South. 
Of  the  eight  Presidents  elected  previous  to  1838,  five 
were  from  the  South,  and  the  necessity  of  courting  the 
Southern  vote  kept  that  region  most  powerful,  though 
the  North  was  strong  in  thoughtful  and  influential  men. 
Attempts  were  made  to  give  religious  teaching  and  ed- 
ucation to  the  slaves,  their  own  mistresses  often1  acting 
as  teachers.  But  this  was  dreaded  by  the  masters, 
whose  apprehensions  never  were  realized,  though  many 
of  the  more  intelligent  Negroes  became  restless,  and 


Negroes  Emancipated  in  the  English  Isles.  357 

ran  away  to  the  Florida  forests  and  to  the  swamps,  and 
not  a  few  made  their  escape  to  the  North,  and  thence 
to  Canada.  Yet  the  history  of  slavery  in  the  United 
States  records  very  few  instances  of  violence  or  at- 
tempts at  rising.  For  whatever  difficulty  the  Southern- 
ers had  or  feared,  the  Northern  abolitionists  were  held 
to  blame ;  and  the  life  of  a  man  known  to  be  on  that 
side  of  the  question  was  hardly  safe  in  some  districts 
of  the  South,  and  his  presence  was  tolerated  nowhere. 
Strangely  enough,  all  this  time  people  in  the  North 
loathed  and  shrank  from  Negroes,  and  would  not  let 
a  colored  person  eat  with  them,  or  sit  in  the  same  seat 
at  church,  or  in  the  same  public  carnage.  The  con- 
dition of  Haiti  was  a  bad  precedent  for  the  Negroes ; 
and  the  experiment  in  Jamaica  was  pressed  also  against 
their  emancipation. 

Yet  in  Jamaica  the  result  vindicates  the  laws  of 
right  and  justice.  The  colored  people  are  law-abiding 
and  inoffensive.  Extreme  poverty  is  not  known  among 
them ;  and,  while  they  produce  enough  for  their  own 
needs,  they  raise  even  something  for  exportation.  The 
old  plantations  once  deserted  are  being  taken  up  by 
Cubans  and  others.  Labor  is  supplied  by  "coolies," 
or  East  Indians,  who  are  brought  under  a  system  of 
indenture  to  this  and  other  tropical  regions,  to  take  the 
place  of  the  Negroes.  Liable  to  abuse,  and  full  of  diffi- 


358  Stories  of  American  History. 

culties,  the  subject  has  been  so  guarded  by  legislation 
that  the  strong  objections  made  to  it  as  a  new  system 
of  slavery  are  being  removed.  There  was  a  difficulty 
in  Jamaica  in  1865 — a  Negro  rising — which  was  sup- 
pressed in  a  summary  manner.  Since  then  the  island 
has  gone  on  improving.  There  is  little  doubt  that  it 
will  recover  its  former  commercial  prosperity.  And 
there  is  no  doubt  that  freedom  is  better  than  slavery. 

It  is  to  the  credit  of  the  Spanish-American  repub- 
lics, with  all  their  faults,  that  their  constitutions  pro- 
hibited slavery.  The  European  nations  followed  the 
example  of  England  as  to  their  colonies.  Only  in 
"  ever-faithful  Cuba,"  still  a  dependency  of  Spain,  does 
slavery  exist  in  the  Western  world.  However  nomi- 
nally faithful  to  Spain  Cuba  may  be,  the  ruling  party,  the 
native  Spaniards  in  the  island,  disregarded  the  edicts  of 
the  Spanish  Government  against  the  slave-trade,  and 
hold  still  with  an  iron  grip  the  Negroes  whose  gradual 
emancipation  the  home  authorities  have  decreed.  The 
importation  of  slaves  has  ceased  ;  coolies  and  Chinese 
are  introduced  to  take  their  place,  and  are  treated  with 
rigor.  For  three  years,  from  1868,  a  rebellion  was  in 
active  progress,  during  which  over  forty  thousand  pris- 
oners were  put  to  death.  The  aim  of  the  insurgents  is 
the  independence  of  the  island  and  the  abolition  of 
slavery.  The  native  Spaniards,  against  whom  the  in- 


Negroes  Emancipated  in  the  English  Isles.  359 

surrection  is  aimed,  form  scarcely  more  than  one  tenth 
of  the  population.  Against  them  are  opposed  Creoles, 
free  negroes,  and  slaves — the  same  discordant  elements 
which  existed  in  Haiti.  The  end  of  slavery  must  come 
— and  let  us  hope  without  more  horror  and  bloodshed. 


CHAP.   XLL— BOUNDARY  QUESTIONS. 


1838—1848. 

LL  this  time  England's  possessions  to  the  north 
had  been  becoming  more  thickly  peopled.  A 
company  for  trading  in  furs,  which  had  been  formed  in 
1670  by  Prince  Rupert,  and  called  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company,  had  stations  and  forts  for  dealing  with  the 
Indian  hunters  all  over  the  cold  regions  of  Labrador 
and  Rupert's  Land.  The  operations  of  the  company 
eventually  extended  across  the  continent  to  the  Pacific 
Ocean,  and  round  their  stations  a  certain  amount  of 
population  began  to  spring  up. 

Nova  Scotia  was  chiefly  peopled  by  descendants  of 
the  royalists  who  had  left  the  States  on  their  independ- 
ence. Newfoundland  harbored  among  her  fogs  colo- 
nies of  fisher-folk  ;  and  into  Upper  Canada  there  had 
long  been  a  continual  stream  of  settlers,  many  of  them 
officers  of  the  navy  and  army,  who,  being  no  longer 


Boundary  Questions.  361 

needed  after  the  great  war,  had  obtained,  on  easy  terms, 
grants  of  land  in  the  backwoods. 

Upper  Canada  was  almost  all  British,  Lower  Can- 
ada chiefly  French.  There  were  jealousies  between  the 
two  provinces  ;  and  a  feeling  of  discontent  against  the 
British  Government  was  shown  in  a  struggle  of  the 
Legislatures  against  the  governors  who  were  appoint- 
ed in  England.  This  opposition  was  most  marked  in 
Lower  Canada,  and  resulted  in  actual  rebellion  in  1837. 
It  was  soon  put  down  by  the  loyal  militia,  under  Sir 
John  Colborne,  a  tried  old  Peninsular  general.  Mean- 
while discontents  were  rife  in  the  upper  province, 
where  the  loyalists  proved  able  to  take  care  of  them- 
selves. There  were  many  "  sympathizers,"  as  they 
were  called,  in  the  United  States,  and  the  rebels  who 
escaped  from  Canada  derived  aid  from  them.  A 
"  Provisional  Government "  was  formed  by  the  insur- 
gents in  Upper  Canada,  which  existed  chiefly  on  paper, 
and  made  liberal  offers  for  volunteers.  This  "  govern- 
ment "  took  possession  of  Navy  Island,  on  the  British 
shore  of  the  channel  of  Niagara,  and  made  it  a  ren- 
dezvous for  volunteers,  and  a  depot  of  arms  stolen 
from  American  arsenals.  An  old  steamer,  called  the 
Caroline,  plied  between  Navy  Island  and  the  United 
States  side.  In  the  night  of  December  29,  1837,  while 
moored  at  her  American  landing,  this  vessel  was  seized 


362  Stories  of  American  History. 

by  a  party  of  Canadian  loyalists.  One  man  of  her 
crew  was  killed  in  the  struggle,  and  the  captors  set 
fire  to  the  vessel,  and  sent  her  drifting  down  over 
the  cataract,  but  without  a  living  soul  on  board.  Navy 
Island  was  abandoned,  and  the  arms  were  restored. 
The  rebellion  in  Canada  had  already  been  subdued  be- 
fore this  affair.  There  were  much  soreness  and  some 
diplomatic  correspondence  on  the  subject,  but  this  mat- 
ter, with  others,  was  adjusted  by  the  Treaty  of  Wash- 
ington in  1842.  By  that  treaty  the  boundary  between 
Maine  and  the  British  possessions  was  determined  by 
mutual  concessions  being  made  ;  and  five  years  later 
the  line  between  the  United  States  and  British  terri- 
tory on  the  Pacific  coast  was  settled  on  the  forty-ninth 
parallel. 

An  incident  growing  out  of  the  Canadian  rebellion 
was  the  arrest  and  trial  of  a  man  named  McLeod.  He 
boasted  in  the  city  of  Buffalo  of  his  share  in  the  de- 
struction of  the  Caroline.  He  was  arrested  and  put 
on  trial  in  a  court  of  the  State  of  New  York,  charged 
with  the  murder  of  the  one  man  who  was  killed.  Each 
country  watched  the  case  with  much  anxiety,  but  the 
prisoner  was  acquitted  in  default  of  evidence.  Serious 
questions  of  national  importance  would  otherwise  have 
been  involved. 

In  1867  Upper  and  Lower  Canada  were  united  so 


Boundary  Questions.  363 

as  to  have  one  Legislature  ;  and  Nova  Scotia  and  the 
other  provinces,  together  with  the  immense  tracts  held 
by  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  have  been  joined  with 
them  in  one  great  government,  called  the  Dominion 
of  Canada.  It  is  larger  than  Europe,  but  has  fewer 
inhabitants  than  Scotland.  The  chief  city  is  Ottawa. 
Almost  all  the  population  is  British,  except  the  Lower 
Canadians,  and  the  Indians  who  still  live  at  the  west 
in  large  tribes.  Government  protects  them,  and  they 
are  not  ill-treated  ;  but  it  is  impossible  to  hinder  trad- 
ers from  selling  them  liquor,  which  ruins  them.  Some 
are  settled  round  missionaries,  who  keep  them  in 
good  order,  and  teach  them  to  till  the  land ;  but 
their  constitution  seems  best  fitted  for  a  wandering 
life,  and  they  dwindle  and  die  out,  even  when  taken 
care  of. 

On  the  western  outskirts  of  the  United  States  fre- 
quent wars  have  taken  place,  of  more  or  less  conse- 
quence. It  is  the  old,  old  story  over  and  over  again, 
and  the  red-men  have  had  to  fall  back,  step  by  step. 
Reservations  of  tracts  are  made  for  them,  annuities  are 
paid  them,  good  men  try  to  teach  and  Christianize 
them,  and  the  laws  forbid  selling  them  "  fire-water,"  as 
they  call  it.  But  greedy  traders  let  them  have  arms, 
quarrels  break  out  with  the  settlers,  revenge  begins, 
the  Indians  do  some  horrid  deed  of  cruelty,  and  punish- 


364  Stories  of  American  History. 

ment  follows.  But  the  worst  features  of  Indian  war- 
fare have  been  softened  since  the  days  when  desperate 
scattered  colonists  fought  for  their  lives.  The  Indians 
now  feel  the  power  they  can  not  resist.  Still  they  are 
being  swept  away,  though  on  the  reservations  mission- 
aries labor  for  them,  and  large  sums  are  raised  by  reli- 
gious bodies  to  support  the  work.  Many  youths,  male 
and  female,  are  brought  to  establishments  in  the  old 
States  for  instruction,  and  so  far  with  excellent  results  ; 
chieftains  voluntarily  offering  their  children  to  learn 
white  men's  ways. 

Meantime  difficulties  arose  about  Texas,  a  large 
Mexican  province,  very  scantily  inhabited  till  settlers 
from  the  United  States  began  obtaining  grants.  The 
Constitution  of  Mexico  was,  like  that  of  the  United 
States,  federal,  and  the  settlers  organized  their  State.  In 
1836  General  Santa  Anna  overthrew  the  Federal  Con- 
stitution. The  Texans  revolted,  Santa  Anna  invaded 
Texas,  and  the  Texans,  under  General  Sam  Houston, 
conquered  the  invaders,  and  made  Santa  Anna  prisoner. 
Texas  became  an  independent  republic,  and  so  re- 
mained until  1845,  and  was  recognized  by  the  United 
States  and  the  European  powers.  In  that  year  it  was 
admitted,  as  a  slaveholding  State,  into  the  United 
States,  under  President  Polk,  though  not  without  res- 
olute opposition.  Aside  from  the  question  of  slavery, 


Boundary  Questions.  365 

it  was  said  the  annexation  would  lead  to  war.  And 
war  followed.  Though  Mexico  had  recognized  the  in- 
dependence of  Texas,  there  was  a  disputed  boundary. 
The  quarrel  of  Texas  became  that  of  the  United  States. 
General  Zachary  Taylor  (afterward,  and  in  consequence 
of  his  military  successes,  President  of  the  United 
States)  was  ordered  to  occupy  the  disputed  territory. 
He  was  attacked  by  the  Mexicans,  and  in  the  battles 
of  Palo  Alto  and  Resaca  de  la  Palma  defeated  and 
drove  them  out  of  the  territory  in  dispute.  The  Con- 
gress of  the  United  States  declared  that  war  existed 
by  the  act  of  Mexico.  Volunteers  were  called  for, 
Taylor  was  re-enforced  and  ordered  to  invade  Mexico. 
He  besieged  and  took  Monterey  in  September,  1846, 
and  then  at  Buena  Vista  defeated  Santa  Anna  with 
about  six  thousand  troops,  against  the  Mexican  force 
of  about  twenty  thousand. 

In  March,  1847,  General  Winfield  Scott,  a  veteran 
of  sixty,  commander-in-chief  of  the  United  States 
army,  landed  with  twelve  thousand  men  at  Vera  Cruz. 
That  city  surrendered  on  the  26th,  and  General  Scott 
took  his  line  of  march  upon  Mexico,  which  city  he 
entered  as  conqueror  on  September  i4th.  On  his  way 
he  had  fought  and  won  six  battles  with  the  Mexicans, 
who,  though  superior  in  numbers,  were  signally  de- 
feated. One  of  the  causes  of  his  success  was  that  his 


366 


Stories  of  American  History. 


army  had  mainly  subsisted  by  purchase,  not  by  forage. 
The  city  of  Mexico  was  not  now  on  an  island  in  a 
lake,  but  in  a  valley,  and  contained  one  hundred  and 


Bombardment  of  Vera  Cruz. 

forty  thousand  inhabitants.  The  provinces  of  New 
Mexico  and  Chihuahua  were  invaded,  but  the  signal 
event  of  the  war  was  the  acquisition  of  California. 
Colonel  John  C.  Fremont,  who  was  there  as  a  surveyor 
and  explorer,  rallied  the  settlers  from  the  United  States, 
and,  with  the  aid  of  a  naval  force  which  had  appeared 
on  the  coast,  took  possession  of  the  country.  The 


Boundary  Questions.  367 

Mexicans,  with  their  capital  taken,  were  forced  to 
make  peace,  giving  up  New  Mexico  and  California, 
and  admitting  the  Texan  boundary  about  which  the 
war  began.  For  this  surrender  of  territory  they  re- 
ceived a  large  compensation,  as  the  institutions  of  the 
United  States  are  against  acquisition  of  territory  by 
conquest. 

All  this  had  been  much  disapproved  of  by  many. 
The  war  was  expensive,  and  Texas  was  said  only  to 
mean  Taxes,  spelled  in  another  way,  and  annexation 
to  be  a  mere  fine  name  for  robbery.  There  was  some- 
thing, however,  to  be  said  for  the  provinces  themselves, 
which  might  well  wish  to  join  a  well-governed  and 
prosperous  Union  like  the  United  States,  rather  than 
belong  to  such  a  country  of  misrule  and  anarchy  as 
Mexico.  And  California  was  found  to  be  a  much 
greater  prize  than  had  been  supposed.  In  February, 
1848,  out  of  the  sands  of  the  Sacramento  River  were 
picked  particles  of  gold,  and  the  soil  was  found  to  be 
full  of  small  lumps,  which  only  needed  to  be  sifted  and 
washed  out.  On  the  news,  thousands  upon  thousands 
came  from  all  countries  to  make  their  fortunes.  In 
two  years  the  city  of  San  Francisco  alone  had  fifteen 
thousand  inhabitants,  and  the  gold  region  nearly  a  hun- 
dred thousand,  against  about  forty  thousand  before  the 
gold  discovery. 


368 


Stories  of  American  History. 


The  slaveholding  interest  had  gained  a  great  point 
in  the  admission  of  Texas.  California  was  now  the 
great  point  of  dispute.  Here  free  labor  and  slave-labor 


Gold-Digging  in  California. 

were  brought  face  to  face.  The  hardy  miners — and 
mining  meant  labor — would  not  work  side  by  side 
with  slaves,  and  while  the  politicians  were  discussing 
the  matter,  the  Californians  met  in  convention,  and  in 
September,  1849,  formed  a  constitution  excluding  slav- 
ery, and  were  admitted  to  the  Union  the  following 
year. 


Boundary  Questions. 


369 


In  1867  the  United  States  purchased  from  Russia 
the  Territory  of  Alaska,  the  northwestern  corner  of  the 
North  American  continent,  separated  from  Asia  by 
Behring's  Straits,  and  bounded  on  the  north  by  the 
Polar  Sea  and  on  the  south  by  the  Pacific  Ocean. 


24 


CHAP.   XLIL— DEVELOPMENT   OF    THE 
REPUBLICS. 


1 


had  quietly  slipped,  as  we  have  seen,  out 
of  colonial  bondage,  and  gradually  modified  her 
institutions  to  suit  her  new  condition.  She  escaped 
the  fearful  warfare  with  the  parent  country,  by  which 
the  other  colonies  were  desolated.  Her  internal  dis- 
putes have  been  few,  and  not  ferocious.  From  the 
interference  of  neighboring  states,  trying  to  promote 
insurrection,  she  has  had  some  trouble ;  and  one  long 
war  with  Paraguay  grew  out  of  that  fruitful  source  of 
dissension — -disputed  territory.  Her  progress,  though 
not  rapid,  has  been  satisfactory ;  and,  during  late  years, 
increasing.  She  has  now  an  improving  trade,  about 
two  thousand  miles  of  railway  open  for  traffic,  and  more 
under  construction,  and  about  four  thousand  miles 
of  telegraph.  The  Roman  Catholic  is  the  established 
religion,  but  all  others  are  tolerated. 

The  Emperor,  Dom  Pedro  II,  left  at  five  years  of 


Development  of  the  Republics.  371 


372  Stories  of  American  History. 

age  under  tutors  and  governors,  was,  at  the  age  of  six- 
teen, crowned  Emperor,  and  at  eighteen  married.  In 
1853  the  importation  of  slaves  from  Africa  was  forbid- 
den. In  1871  an  act  for  the  gradual  manumission  of 
slaves  was  passed,  and  under  that  act,  by  government 
aid  and  private  generosity,  the  gift  of  freedom  has  been 
rapid  rather  than  gradual.  Dom  Pedro  II  is  judicious 
and  practical,  patient  to  observe  and  anxious  to  learn, 
welcoming  immigrants,  and  encouraging  the  arts  of 
peace.  In  i8;6-'77  he  visited  the  United  States  and 
the  continent  of  Europe,  extending  his  tour  to  Egypt 
and  Syria. 

Following  the  history  of  Chili  and  Peru  down  to 
the  present  time  is  no  agreeable  repetition  of  the  old 
story  of  wars  and  violence.  For  centuries  before  the 
Spaniards  landed  in  Peru,  the  natives  had  used  a  pecul- 
iar substance  called  "  guano  "  as  a  fertilizer,  and  the  use 
of  it  in  South  America  has  never  ceased.  It'  was  not 
till  1841  that  it  was  introduced  into  England.  Since 
that  time  the  annual  importation  into  England  alone 
has  risen  from  about  three  thousand  to  three  hundred 
thousand  tons.  It  has  been  a  source  of  great  wealth 
to  Peru,  and  of  great  misery  to  the  "  coolies  "  inveigled 
to  the  Chincha  Islands  and  other  places  to  dig  and 
load  it. 

In  1863  there  was  a  quarrel  on  a  Peruvian  estate 


Development  of  the  Republics.  373 

between  some  Spanish  immigrants  and  native  laborers, 
The  next  year  a  Spanish  fleet  came  out,  demanding  in- 
demnity for  injury  to  Spanish  subjects,  and  seized  the 
Chincha  Islands.  Ineffectual  attempts  were  made  to 
settle  the  matter  by  treaty.  Peru  was  excited,  Chili 
sided  with  Peru,  and  in  1866  another  Spanish  fleet 
came  out.  Valparaiso,  in  Chili,  was  shelled,  and  great 
mischief  was  done.  The  fleet  then  moved  on  to  Callao, 
and  the  commander  warned  the  inhabitants  to  retire 
to  Lima,  as  he  intended  to  burn  their  town.  But  the 
ships  and  batteries  of  Callao  gave  him  a  thorough  beat- 
ing, and  in  five  hours  he  and  his  ships  were  driven  off. 
The  2d  of  May,  on  which  this  happened,  has  since 
been  kept  as  a  holiday  by  the  Peruvians  in  Callao. 

The  history  of  Peru  has  been  one  continued  series 
of  revolutions.  In  1872,  just  as  a  National  Exhibition 
had  been  arranged,  there  was  a  terrible  one.  Tomas 
Guttierez,  the  Minister  of  War  in  President  Balta's 
Cabinet,  set  on  foot  an  insurrection,  and  the  President 
was  shot  in  his  bed  by  a  file  of  soldiers.  Guttierez  pro- 
claimed himself  Dictator,  and  for  four  days  murder  and 
terror  reigned.  His  two  brothers  were  with  him  in 
the  plot.  One  of  them,  in  command  of  a  fort,  was  shot, 
and  the  garrison  then  sided  with  the  infuriated  people. 
Another  brother  was  killed  by  them,  and  the  Dictator 
of  a  day  was  himself  hunted  to  his  house  and  found 


374  Stories  of  American  History. 

hiding  in  a  bath.  Shots  and  blows  were  showered 
upon  him  till  long  after  he  was  dead.  T\vo  of  the 
dead  bodies  were  hung  for  a  time  from  the  cathedral 
tower,  and  on  the  next  day  the  remains  of  the  three 
brothers  were  burned  together.  Such  ferocity  leaves 
only  the  hope  that  the  British  and  other  Europeans 
and  the  North  Americans,  who  are  drawn  to  these 
countries  by  their  mineral  and  other  wealth,  may  cre- 
ate a  better  spirit.  Indeed,  such  a  change  has  already 
begun.  Foreigners  are  protected  by  their  respective 
governments.  Foreign  capital  and  enterprise  furnish 
employment,  and  the  building  of  railroads  and  other 
improvements  is  teaching  people  to  work.  Unfortu- 
nately, for  obvious  reasons,  the  upper  classes  are  alien- 
ated from  the  Church,  and  have  lost  the  restraint  of 
religion.  The  ladies,  without  the  advantages  of  good 
education,  though  devout  up  to  their  knowledge,  are 
too  inert  to  exert  themselves.  They  are  beautiful  and 
lively  when  young,  but  sink  into  dullness  and  apathy 
in  their  hot  climate. 

Of  the  Republic  of  Chili  there  was,  until  recently, 
less  to  tell  than  of  some  others.  The  people  have 
been  fairly  steady  to  their  own  government,  though 
aggressive  against  their  neighbors.  The  chief  domestic 
events,  other  than  those  of  a  pleasant  character,  have 
been  earthquakes  and  a  fearful  casualty  at  Santiago. 


Development  of  the  Republics.  375 

On  the  8th  of  December,  1863,  the  eve  of  the  Feast  of 
the  Immaculate  Conception,  when  the  Jesuits'  church 
was  perfectly  full,  chiefly  of  women,  some  of  the  deco- 
rations took  fire.  The  flames  spread,  the  frightened 
women  choked  up  the  doors,  and  no  less  than  two 
thousand  were  killed,  being  either  burned  or  trampled 
to  death. 

The  Chilians  are  terrible  enemies.  Probably  their 
very  loyalty  to  their  own  government  makes  them 
formidable  to  others.  They  have  more  energy  than 
the  residents  nearer  the  equator.  There  were  of  course 
territorial  disputes.  And  out  of  these  grew  a  war  with 
Bolivia.  A  secret  treaty  between  Bolivia  and  Peru 
brought  the  latter  into  the  quarrel.  War  was  waged 
by  sea  and  land.  The  Chilians  invaded  Bolivia  in  the 
beginning  of  1880,  pressed  on  to  Peru,  and,  in  January, 
1 88 1,  occupied  the  Peruvian  capital,  Lima;  and,  indeed, 
the  whole  country.  There  they  are  still  (1882),  de- 
manding terms  of  peace  so  severe  that  Peru  could  not 
comply  if  she  would,  and  remains  helpless  at  the  mercy 
of  her  conqueror.  The  Chilians  were  resisted  step  by 
step.  Fierce  battles  on  both  sides  were  lost  and  won, 
towns  sacked,  and  the  country  desolated.  The  Govern- 
ment of  the  United  States  has  tried  in  vain  to  act  as 
umpire. 


CHAP.  X  LI  1 1.— ARGENTINE  CONFEDERA- 
TION.   WAR   WITH    PARAGUAY. 

1835—1870. 

IN  the  Argentine  Confederation,  Buenos  Ayres  is 
naturally  the  leading  state.  It  comprises,  in  the 
first  place,  the  city  from  which  it  takes  its  name,  and  a 
few  other  cities,  centers  of  population.  Beyond  these 
is  an  immense  plain,  one  hundred  and  eighty  miles  in 
breadth,  which  is  for  one  half  of  the  year  covered  with 
clover,  and  the  other  half  with  enormous  thistles. 
These  grow  up  in  the  summer,  and  in  the  autumn  all 
die,  and  their  hard,  dry  stems  rattle  one  against  an- 
other till  they  are  broken  down  and  carried  away  by 
hurricanes.  Beyond  is  another  great  plain,  full  of  salt 
lakes,  with  the  plants  that  love  salt ;  and  then  the 
Andes  begin  to  rise.  Tribes  of  Indians  dwell  in  the 
far  interior,  and  the  Guachos,  or  people  of  mixed  blood, 
are  scattered  about  at  intervals  in  the  Pampas,  or 
plains  of  thistle  and  clover.  Huge  herds  of  wild  cattle 


Argentine  Confederation.  377 

and  of  horses  roam  on  these  plains,  and  the  lives  of 
the  Guachos  are  spent  in  catching  them.  Inclosures, 
called  corrals,  are  arranged,  into  which  the  Guachos, 
who  are  desperate  riders,  chase  the  animals,  riding 
along  beside  them  at  full  speed.  Then  with  a  lasso,  or 
long  cord  with  a  sliding  noose,  they  contrive  to  en- 
tangle one  at  a  time,  and  to  throw  it  down  without  in- 
jury. If  the  creature  be  young  and  not  immediately 
wanted,  this  is  done  for  the  purpose  of  branding  with 
the  owner's  initials,  and  it  is  let  go  again.  If  a  horse, 
it  is  kept,  to  be  broken  in,  used,  or  exported.  The  cat- 
tle are  killed  and  boiled  down  for  the  sake  of  the  tal- 
low, which,  with  the  hides,  furnishes  the  chief  article  of 
export.  Much  of  the  meat  is  wasted,  and  fences  are 
made  of  bullocks'  bones.  Nobody  could  be  wilder  and 
more  ignorant  than  the  Guacho.  Though  baptized,  he 
has  little  of  the  Christian  about  him,  and  places  super- 
stitious trust  in  some  favorite  image  of  a  saint,  or  in  a 
relic  worn  like  a  charm. 

Lawless  and  brave  men  like  these  are  sure  to  be 
ready  for  any  disturbance,  and  thus  Buenos  Ayres  be- 
came embroiled  with  Brazil.  There  were  attempts 
made  to  spread  republican  feeling  in  the  contiguous 
Brazilian  province  of  Rio  Grande,  and  this  led  to  a  war, 
in  which  the  Brazilian  fleet  blockaded  Buenos  Ayres 
for  a  year  and  a  half.  Then  the  English  Government 


378  Stories  of  American  History. 

interfered,  and  peace  was  made  in  1828  ;  but  this  only 
left  the  Argentine  provinces  free  to  make  war  upon 
each  other. 

At  last  a  successful  general,  named  Juan  Manuel 
Ortiz  de  Rosas,  became  governor  or  dictator  of  his 
native  province,  Buenos  Ayres,  and  in  1835  President 
of  the  Argentine  Confederation.  His  was  a  reign  of 
terror,  which  is  still  recollected  with  horror  and  dismay. 
He  had  a  band  of  Guachos  in  his  service,  whom  he 
sent  forth  to  stab  or  shoot  any  who  were  obnoxious 
to  him  or  to  his  favorites,  or  else  to  bring  them  be- 
fore him,  when,  after  a  pretense  at  trial  by  court-mar- 
tial, he  had  them  shot.  No  one  dared  to  disobey  his 
orders,  as,  for  instance,  when  he  decreed  that  all  houses 
should  be  colored  red,  and  every  one  wear  the  same 
color,  as  a  token  of  loyalty  to  the  republic.  The  effect 
of  the  glare  of  the  hot  sunshine  is  said  to  have  been 
to  increase  the  violence  and  ferocity  of  natures  already 
too  cruel. 

Rosas  made  war  with  the  two  states  of  Paraguay 
and  Uruguay,  to  compel  them  to  join  the  Argentine 
Confederation.  This  involved  war  with  Brazil,  and 
England  and  France  joined  to  repress  him.  While  the 
fleet  of  Rosas  was  besieging  Montevideo,  it  was  cap- 
tured by  the  allies,  and  the  navigation  of  the  river  Pa- 
rana thrown  open  to  all  nations. 


Argentine  Confederation.  379 

After  this  the  English  and  French  fleets  returned 
home  in  1848-49.  But  Brazil  continued  the  war, 
while  Rosas  resisted  fiercely,  and  kept  down  all  op- 
position at  home  by  his  savage  band  of  assassins. 
But  in  1851  he  was  totally  defeated  by  General  Juste 
Jose  Urquiza,  commanding  the  troops  of  Brazil, 
Paraguay,  and  Uruguay,  at  the  battle  of  Monte  Ca- 
seros ;  and,  being  hard  pushed,  he  was  obliged  to  flee 
to  England,  where  he  spent  the  rest  of  his  life  as  a 
refugee. 

Urquiza  became  Dictator  of  the  Argentine  Con- 
federation. But  in  1852,  General  Bartolome  Mitre 
came  forward  as  a  leader  in  a  movement  of  Buenos 
Ayres  against  Urquiza,  which  resulted  in  the  separa- 
tion of  Buenos  Ayres  from  the  Confederation,  though 
Urquiza  continued  to  wage  war  against  the  revolted 
province.  General  Mitre  was  chosen  Governor  of 
Buenos  Ayres  when,  in  1860,  that  state  returned  to 
the  confederacy;  and  in  1862,  when  the  Confederation 
was  first  called  a  republic,  he  was  elected  President. 
Mitre  was  an  educated,  sensible,  and  enlightened  ruler. 
He  did  all  in  his  power  to  improve  the  republic  by 
opening  schools,  finding  new  employments,  beginning 
railways,  and  encouraging  English  and  Germans  to 
settle  in  the  country,  and  bring  industry  with  them. 
Trade  and  commerce  increased.  Sheep  were  intro- 


380  Stories  of  American  History. 

duced  into  the  Pampas,  and  some  efforts  made  to  bring 
those  vast  plains  under  cultivation. 

The  Republic  of  Paraguay  had  prospered  under  its 
Dictator,  Dr.  Jose"  Caspar  Rodriguez  Francia,  who 
died  in  1840,  over  eighty  years  of  age.  For  nearly 
thirty  years  he  had  been  absolute  Dictator.  His  policy 
was  complete  isolation,  and  it  was  next  to  impossible 
for  a  foreigner  to  get  into  Paraguay,  or  out  if  once  in. 
Travelers  published  books  calling  Francia's  rule  a 
"  Reign  of  Terror,"  but  under  it  Paraguay  flourished. 
Dr.  Francia  was  succeeded  by  his  two  nephews  as  con- 
suls, one  of  whom,  in  1844,  was  made  Dictator.  Dying 
in  1862,  he  was  succeeded  by  his  son,  Don  Francisco 
Solano  Lopez,  \vho  managed  to  become  embroiled 
with  three  of  his  neighbors  at  once. 

In  the  little  state  of  Uruguay  party  dissensions 
broke  out  into  civil  war.  Unfortunately,  the  son  of 
President  Flores  was  identified  with  the  faction  op- 
posed to  his  father.  He  held  a  command  in  the  army. 
Visiting  his  father  in  the  palace,  he  had  an  altercation 
with  him,  and,  following  hard  words,  the  son  struck 
his  father  in  the  face,  ran  from  the  palace  to  the  bar- 
racks, led  out  his  regiment,  and  marched  his  command 
through  the  streets,  making  seditious  shouts,  A  Monte- 
video paper,  commenting  on  this  transaction,  called  it, 
"  his  son  striking  him  out  of  an  excess  of  filial  love." 


Argentine  Confederation.  381 


The  seditious  movement  was  almost  instantly  sup- 
pressed. But  President  Flores  was  a  few  days  later 
murdered  in  the  streets  by  a  band  of  masked  assassins. 
Indeed,  such  was  the  frequency  of  murder  in  those 
lands,  that  there  is  a  monument  in  Buenos  Ayres  to  a 
man  who,  the  epitaph  says,  was  "  assassinated  by  his 
friends." 

Brazil  intervened  in  the  quarrel  in  Uruguay.  Lo- 
pez, Dictator  of  Paraguay,  demanded  that  Dom  Pedro 
should  withdraw  his  troops  from  that  republic.  Brazil 
refused,  and  Lopez  proceeded  to  settle  disputed  bound- 
aries by  armed  occupation,  and  to  seize  Brazilian  prov- 
inces. In  his  aggressions  on  Brazil  he  crossed  Ar- 
gentine territory.  The  Argentines  protested,  and  Lo- 
pez made  war  upon  them.  The  first  intelligence  of  the 
war  at  Buenos  Ayres  was  the  news  of  the  capture  by 
Lopez  of  two  Argentine  vessels.  The  people  of  Bue- 
nos Ayres  paraded  the  streets  in  great  excitement, 
with  cries  of  "  Down  with  Paraguay  !"  President  Mitre 
took  advantage  of  the  popular  fury ;  the  Argentine 
Republic  joined  with  Brazil,  and  Uruguay  came  also 
into  the  alliance.  Paraguay  was  invaded  in  1866,  and 
for  four  years  made  desperate  resistance.  The  Gua- 
ranis,  among  the  soldiers  of  Lopez,  were  distinguished 
for  wild  courage.  Volunteers  were  accepted,  and  con- 
scripts drawn  of  all  ages  between  twelve  and  seventy. 


382  Stories  of  American  History. 

Even  women,  it  is  said,  bore  arms,  disguised  as  men. 
It  is  computed  that  nine  tenths  of  the  Paraguayans  lost 
their  lives  in  the  struggle.  The  war  ended  with  the  life 
of  Solano  Lopez,  who  was  defeated  at  the  battle  of 
Aquidaban,  in  March,  1870.  He  was  shot  while  at- 
tempting to  swim  the  river,  and  the  remains  of  his 
army  surrendered.  His  last  words  were,  "I  die  for  my 
country."  His  love  of  country  is  undisputed ;  but  his 
idea  of  patriotism  was  unhappily  controlled  by  his 
grasping  personal  ambition.  His  rule  was  despotic. 
Over  his  own  people  he  was  arbitrary  and  cruel ;  he 
imprisoned  members  of  foreign  legations ;  and  only 
the  timely  arrival  of  war-vessels  from  the  United  States 
saved  some  members  of  the  mission  from  that  country. 
They  were  accused,  together  with  other  foreigners  and 
certain  leading  Paraguayans,  of  conspiracy.  The  latter 
suffered  torture  and  death. 

Brave  little  Paraguay,  exhausted  by  external  foes 
and  internal  suffering,  gave  way  when  she  had  no 
longer  a  leader.  The  rivers  which  her  dictators  had  so 
jealously  guarded  were  opened.  A  large  portion  of  her 
area  was  surrendered,  and  for  several  years  Brazilian 
troops  occupied  portions  of  her  territory.  She  is  now 
nominally  independent,  though  really  under  Brazilian 
control. 

Disputed  possessions  have  been  the  fruitful  cause 


Argentine  Confederation.  383 

of  wars  in  South  America.  The  regions  at  the  extreme 
south,  inhabited  by  about  thirty  thousand  Patagonians, 
still  free  and  unsubdued,  long  an  open  question  between 
Chili  and  the  Argentine  Republic,  have  been  ceded  to 
the  latter.  Practically  the  wild  lands  of  Patagonia  and 
the  Tierra  del  Fuego  Islands  have  been  left  to  their 
natives,  except  for  the  brave  and  self-devoted  attempt 
of  Allen  Gardiner,  an  English  naval  officer,  who  en- 
deavored to  begin  a  mission  for  their  instruction  in  the 
Christian  faith.  He  was  to  have  supplies  sent  to  him, 
but  these  failed  him,  and  he  and  his  companions  all 
perished  from  cold  and  hunger.  Allen  Gardiner's 
body  was  found  in  an  open  boat  at  Picton  Island,  in 
the  Straits  of  Magellan,  with  a  diary  by  his  side,  full 
to  the  very  last  of  expressions  of  faith,  hope,  love,  and 
even  joy. 


CHAP.  XLIV.— NORTH   AND   SOUTH. 

1848—1859. 

/TV HE  slavery  question  was  becoming  more  and 
-L  more  an  anxious  matter  in  the  United  States. 
At  one  time  the  Northerners,  though  unwilling  to  be 
slave-owners  themselves,  had  been  willing  to  defend 
the  institution ;  or,  at  least,  to  argue  that  its  disposi- 
tion was  reserved  to  the  States  in  which  it  existed,  se- 
cure from  interference  by  the  terms  of  the  Union.  But 
a  feeling  in  favor  of  abolition  was  spreading  more  and 
more ;  and  statesmen  could  not  but  see  that  the  pre- 
ponderance of  either — the  party  of  freedom  or  the  up- 
holders of  slavery — could  not  satisfy  the  minority. 
The  question  became  a  political  one.  In  the  moral 
aspects  of  the  subject,  also,  the  nation  was  being  in- 
structed. Lectures  were  delivered,  sermons  preached, 
and  books  written,  showing  up  the  evils  of  slavery  in 
the  strongest  light,  and  winning  over  numbers  to  an 


North  and  South. 


385 


active  course,  who  had  hitherto  preserved  an  attitude 
of  silent  disapproval.  Among  the  books  written  was 
"  Uncle  Tom's  Cabin,"  by  Mrs.  Harriet  Beecher  Stowe. 
It  had,  and  still  has,  a  world-wide  circulation,  and  has 
been  translated  into  several  languages.  In  the  heat  of 
controversy  and  the  zeal  of  partisanship,  it  was  impos- 
sible that  special  instances  of  cruelty  and  hardship 
should  not  have  been  represented  as  types  of  the  gen- 


A  Cotton  Plantation. 


eral  condition  of  things.     Had  the  slaves,  as  a  class, 
seen  their  own  case  in  the  light  that  the  free  men  of 

25 


386  Stories  of  American  History. 

the  North  regarded  it  in,  there  would  have  been,  when 
the  war  opened,  such  an  uprising  of  the  bondmen  as 
would  have  given  the  masters  enough  to  do  at  home, 
without  warring  against  the  North.  No  such  uprising 
took  place.  The  slaves,  as  a  body,  remained  apathetic. 
No  outrage  or  violence  is  laid  to  their  charge.  If  this 
was  in  part  due  to  their  ignorance,  more  is  due  to  their 
docile  and  affectionate  nature.  Slaves,  during  the  war, 
carried  on  the  plantations,  and  ministered  to  the  fami- 
lies of  masters  who  were  in  the  field  fighting  to  retain 
the  institution.  If  there  is  in  this  something  due 
to  the  honor  of  the  slaves,  so  is  there  to  the  masters. 
Slavery  in  the  United  States  has  now  been  for  twenty 
years  a  thing  of  the  past ;  and  the  dispassionate  obser- 
ver has  had  time  to  admit  that  in  the  American  Union 
it  did  not  exist  in  its  worst  form,  undisputed  as  were 
its  evils. 

Slaves  who  could  escape  found  friends  in  the  North 
who  assisted  them  to  fly  from  the  miseries  of  being  re- 
turned. The  usual  fate  of  captured  fugitives  was  to  be 
sold  into  labor  the  most  severe,  in  tracts  from  which 
escape  was  impossible,  and  into  a  condition  where  the 
amenities  of  mutual  confidence  could  not  exist.  The 
slave-"  catchers  "  had  no  pity  on  those  who  stole  them- 
selves, hunted  them  down  with  blood-hounds,  shot  them 
in  the  chase,  and  would  nearly  as  soon  shoot  an  aboli- 


North  and  South.  387 

tionist  as  a  mad  dog.  Of  course,  such  extreme  meas- 
ures as  these  could  only  be  practiced  in  the  swamps 
and  deserts  of  the  slave  States ;  in  the  free  border  States 
the  runaways  were  often  "  kidnapped,"  their  pursuers 
finding  aid  from  mean  and  mercenary  fellows  of  the 
baser  sort.  These  abettors  of  the  kidnappers  were 
held  in  huge  contempt  at  the  North  ;  and  it  is  only 
justice  to  say  that  at  the  South  the  professional  slave- 
catchers  were  despised,  even  by  those  whom  they 
served,  though  the  preservation  of  the  system  com- 
pelled their  employment. 

The  Constitution  of  the  United  States  provides  that 
no  person  held  to  service  or  labor  in  one  State,  escap- 
ing into  another,  shall  be  discharged,  but  must  be  de- 
livered up  on  claim  of  the  party  to  whom  such  service 
is  due.  The  legal  construction  of  this  article  compelled 
the  courts  at  the  North  to  decide  that  a  slave-owner 
might  pursue  his  property  even  into  a  free  State.  The 
abolitionists  arranged  what  was  called  the  underground 
railway,  namely,  the  designation  of  families,  at  inter- 
vals, from  the  slave  line  to  the  Canadian  frontier,  who 
would  shelter,  hide,  and  pass  on  the  runaways  till  they 
were  safe  on  British  ground.  In  1820  the  American 
Colonization  Society  founded  a  colony  in  Africa,  called 
Liberia.  The  members  of  the  society  comprise  South- 
ern as  well  as  Northern  men.  To  this  colony  such 


388  Stories  of  American  History. 

slaves  were  transported  as  were  manumitted  by  their 
masters,  or  released  by  purchase ;  the  emigration  being 
voluntary.  The  emigration  still  continues,  so  far  as 
the  liberality  of  the  friends  of  the  colony  will  admit. 
These  Liberians  have  so  far  prospered,  the  colonists 
being  among  the  best  of  their  race.  The  present 
population  of  Liberia  is  about  twenty  thousand  of 
the  colonial  stock,  and  over  seven  hundred  thousand 
aborigines.  It  is  now  an  independent  republic,  and 
so  acknowledged ;  and,  though  the  colony  has  exer- 
cised no  perceptible  effect  in  diminishing  the  blacks  in 
America,  it  promises  great  good  to  the  Negroes  on 
their  own  ground. 

In  the  discussion  of  the  question  of  slavery  there 
were  many  good  men  at  the  South  who  honestly  held 
that  it  would  be  cruel  to  turn  so  many  dull  and  help- 
less creatures  loose  to  provide  for  themselves,  without 
having  trained  them.  And  there  were  wise  men  in 
the  North  who  wished  to  devise  some  plan  by  which 
the  slaves  might  gradually  be  enabled  to  deserve  and 
earn  their  liberty,  as  each  became  able  to  attain  it. 
But  unfortunately  there  were  such  party  questions  and 
sectional  jealousies  mixed  up  with  the  subject  that 
neither  North  nor  South  could  think  or  work  it  out 
clearly,  and  every  wrong  done  on  either  side  inflamed 
people's  minds. 


North  and  South.  389 

The  far  West,  in  the  mean  time,  was  being  settled. 
The  admission  of  California,  without  slavery,  met  with 
earnest  opposition  from  the  Southern  interest.  Other 
perplexing  questions  arose,  and  a  solution  of  all  was 
attempted  by  the  great  statesman  often  called  "  The 
Great  Compromiser,"  Henry  Clay.  He  introduced  in 
the  Senate  a  series  of  measures,  popularly  called  "  The 
Omnibus  Bill,"  which,  after  exciting  debate,  was  sub- 
stantially adopted.  The  most  important  provisions 
were :  California  was  admitted  as  a  free  State  ;  Utah 
and  New  Mexico  were  erected  into  Territories,  admit- 
ting slavery  or  not,  as  they  chose ;  the  slave-markets 
were  abolished  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  in  which 
Washington  is  situated  ;  and  a  law  was  passed  provid- 
ing under-officers — and  by  commissioners  appointed 
by  the  United  States — for  the  recovery  and  return  of 
fugitive  slaves.  This  last  matter  had  hitherto  been 
left  to  the  State  authorities.  As  a  compromise,  this 
was  better  than  most  compromises.  Utah,  New  Mex- 
ico, and  much  of  California  (under  the  arrangement 
by  which  the  State  of  Missouri  was  admitted  in  1821), 
were  slave  territory,  in  which,  the  South  claimed, 
slavery  already  existed  without  special  enactment. 
This  claim  was  surrendered.  The  slave-marts  in  the 
city  of  Washington  had  made  the  capital  of  the  nation 
a  man-market.  These  were  closed.  The  fugitive-slave 


3QO  Stories  of  American  History. 

law  was  all  that  the  North  was  called  on  to  concede. 
But,  while  it  created  violent  opposition  on  moral 
grounds,  it  made  matters  no  worse  for  the  fugitives. 
Northern  men  were,  moreover,  indignant  that  they 
were  required  under  the  provisions  of  this  law  to  aid 
the  officers  when  called  on  to  assist  in  the  capture  of 
slaves.  Practically  this  amounted  to  nothing,  since  no 
one  heeded  it  except  such  as  were  ready  to  aid  the 
slave-catchers  before. 

In  Utah,  near  the  Great  Salt  Lake,  a  strange  col- 
ony settled  in  1847,  having  been  driven  out  of  Illinois. 
They  had  aimed  to  go  beyond  the  territory  of  the  Uni- 
ted States,  but  were  included  by  the  cession  from  Mex- 
ico as  part  of  California.  In  1816  an  invalid  preacher, 
named  Solomon  Spalding,  died  in  Pennsylvania.  He 
left  the  manuscript  of  a  romance,  in  which  he  pro- 
fessed to  describe  the  fortunes,  in  America,  of  the  lost 
tribes  of  Israel.  The  book  was  written  in  chapters  and 
verses,  like  the  Bible.  One  Joseph  Smith  adapted  and 
corrupted  this,  and  in  1830  began,  on  this  foundation, 
the  Mormon  delusion.  Smith  was  killed  while  under 
arrest  in  Illinois.  Brigham  Young,  who  succeeded 
Smith  as  prophet,  introduced  the  plurality  of  wives 
into  the  system.  As  this  could  not  be  permitted  in 
any  Christian  country,  Young  carried  the  people  he  had 
deluded  into  what  was  then  a  desolate  wilderness  ;  but 


North  and  South.  391 

he  showed  such  ability  in  irrigating  and  cultivating  it 
that  the  spot  became  exceedingly  beautiful  and  fertile. 
For  a  time  so  many  persons  among  the  ignorant  and 
easily  deluded  in  Europe  and  America  were  ready  to 
follow  his  emissaries,  that  he  seemed  to  be  going  to 
set  up  a  power  like  Mohammedanism.  But  after  a 
few  years  the  infection  ceased,  as  it  became  known 
that  there  was  a  cruel  tyranny  in  Utah  against  all  who 
presumed  to  differ  from  the  prophet.  Now  that  the 
great  Pacific  Railway  crosses  the.  Territory,  which  is 
on  the  highway  to  California,  there  are  over  seven 
hundred  miles  of  railways  in  Utah  ;  Salt  Lake  City  is 
the  terminus  of  three.  The  "  Gentiles,"  as  the  Mor- 
mons call  the  rest  of  the  world,  are  crowding  the  "  Lat- 
ter-Day Saints,"  as  they  term  themselves  ;  five  or  more 
Christian  denominations  have  missions  and  churches  in 
the  very  citadel  of  Mormonism  ;  the  United  States  Gov- 
ernment are  employing  repressive  measures ;  immi- 
grant parties  of  the  deluded  are  becoming  few  and  far 
between,  and  many  children  of  Mormons  are  receiving 
Christian  instruction.  Since  Young  died,  in  1877,  his 
followers  seem  to  be  diminishing.  Polygamist  dele- 
gates are  excluded  from  Congress,  but,  though  the  de- 
lusion perish,  and  the  seat  of  the  high-priest  of  polyg- 
amy remain  vacant,  the  beautiful  Salt  Lake  City  of 
Utah  will  remain  as  its  memorial,  when  the  name 


392 


Stories  of  American  History. 


North  and  Soiith.  393 

"  Deseret,"  as  the  Mormons  call  their  country,  is  for- 
gotten. 

In  1853  the  peace  which  had  been  made  by  Clay's 
"  Omnibus  Bill  "  was  broken.  The  "  Kansas-Nebras- 
ka "  Bill  was  passed,  by  which  two  Territories  north  of 
the  slave  line  were  created,  with  permission  to  have 
slavery  or  not,  as  they  chose.  The  North  said  this 
was  a  violation  of  the  Missouri  compact.  The  South 
said  that  the  compact  was  broken  already  by  free  Cali- 
fornia. Kansas  became  the  battle-ground.  The  ques- 
tion of  slavery  was  to  be  decided  by  the  majority  of 
the  settlers.  So  each  side  struggled  hard  to  get  the 
most  in,  and  keep  the  others  out.  Kansas  borders  on 
Missouri,  and  the  slave  interest  was  made  odious  by  a 
set  of  fierce  men  who  earned  the  title  of  "  Missouri  ruf- 
fians." They  invaded  Kansas  by  violence  to  keep  out 
or  intimidate  free  settlers,  using  freely  their  revolvers 
and  bowie-knives,  and  making  the  direct  way  to  Kan- 
sas, through  the  State  of  Missouri,  impassable.  There 
were  two  hostile  camps  in  Kansas,  actually  fighting, 
and  "  Bleeding  Kansas "  was  a  familiar  cry.  John 
Brown,  of  Ossawattamie,  of  Pilgrim  or  Puritan  descent, 
was,  with  his  four  sons,  among  the  foremost  on  the 
free  side.  Once,  with  sixteen  men,  he  beat  off  several 
hundred  Missouri  marauders,  who  had  burned  villages 
newly  settled  by  Northerners.  Settlements  being  bro- 


394  Stories  of  American  History. 

ken  up,  each  side  lived  by  plundering  the  other,  and 
used  to  talk  of  a  pro-slavery  horse,  or  an  anti-slavery 
cow.  The  two  rival  parties,  free  and  slave,  each  held  a 
convention  and  prepared  a  constitution.  Neither  went 
into  operation,  and  Kansas  did  not  enter  the  Union  as 
a  free  State  till  in  1861,  after  the  secessionists  had 
withdrawn  from  Congress  and  war  had  begun.  It  is 
not  surprising  that  Kansas  contributed  a  larger  propor- 
tion of  her  population  to  the  Union  army  than  any 
other  State.  Nebraska  was  admitted  in  1867. 

Two  events  increased  the  excitement,  and  aided  to 
precipitate  the  crisis.  A  Negro  in  Missouri,  named 
Dred  Scott,  brought  a  suit  in  1857  for  his  freedom,  on 
the  ground  that,  having  resided  in  a  free  State  with  his 
master,  he  could  not  be  remanded  to  slavery.  This  plea 
was  in  accordance  with  all  practice  and  precedent ;  the 
Constitution  requiring  that  fugitives  should  be  deliv- 
ered up,  not  that  the  free  States  should  defend  the 
claims  of  masters  over  slaves  whom  they  themselves 
carried  into  places  where  slavery  was  illegal.  If  "  Dred  " 
had  refused  to  return,  he  could  not  have  been  compelled. 
The  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  dismissed 
the  case  for  want  of  jurisdiction.  Dred  remained  a 
slave.  The  Chief-Justice,  Taney,  added  opinions  which, 
as  he  had  dismissed  the  case,  sound  lawyers  pro- 
nounced extra  judicial — namely,  that,  as  inferior  be- 


North  and  South.  395 

ings,  Negroes  have  no  rights  "  which  a  white  man  is 
bound  to  respect,"  and  that  the  Missouri  Compromise 
was  unconstitutional.  Whether  the  judge's  opinion 
had  official  weight  or  not,  it  had  immense  influence  on 
the  adverse  side  of  the  slavery  issue,  and  added  to  the 
growing  excitement. 

Another  cause  of  anger  at  the  South  and  perplex- 
ity at  the  North  was  the  misdirected  zeal  of  the  famous 
Kansas  partisan,  John  Brown.  While  the  troubles 
in  that  Territory  were  still  rife,  he  undertook  to  raise 
the  standard  of  insurrection  in  Virginia,  and  to  lead  the 
slaves  against  their  masters.  With  a  handful  of  men 
he  seized  the  United  States  Arsenal  at  Harper's  Ferry, 
whence  he  meant  to  supply  arms  for  the  slaves ;  but 
there  was  no  sign  of  an  insurrection,  and  within  twenty- 
four  hours  Brown  and  his  party  of  twenty-two  were 
virtually  prisoners  in  the  arsenal.  Fifteen  hundred 
militiamen  and  a  detachment  of  United  States  troops 
soon  arrived  in  the  village,  and  the  party  fought  des- 
perately against  such  fearful  odds.  Nearly  every  one 
was  killed  or  wounded.  Among  the  former  was  a  sen 
of  Brown's,  and  among  the  latter  John  Brown  him- 
self and  another  son.  He  was  tried  by  the  Virginia 
authorities,  condemned,  and  executed  December  29, 
1859  ;  and  six  of  his  companions  were  hanged  at  a  later 
day.  With  the  knowledge,  from  the  history  of  Haiti 


396  Stories  of  American  History. 

and  other  instances,  of  what  a  servile  insurrection  may 
mean,  there  were  few  who  could  dispute  the  legality  of 
these  sentences.  John  Brown  was  a  man  of  superior 
mind,  of  high  courage,  and  no  doubt  intended  to  pre- 
vent violence  and  cruelty  ;  but  he  tried  what  was  impos- 
sible. His  captors  and  judges  testified  to  his  courage, 
fortitude,  simple  ingenuousness,  integrity,  and  truth ; 
and  a  witness  of  his  execution,  himself  a  slaveholder, 
said,  "  When  I  meet  death,  I  hope  it  will  be  with  the 
composure  and  fortitude  of  John  Brown."  Still,  as  in 
the  case  of  many  other  martyrs  to  their  convictions,  it 
must  be  said  that  he  was  a  fanatic,  who  pursued  his 
purpose  regardless  of  the  evil  of  his  methods.  On  his 
way  to  the  gallows  he  displayed  a  personal  character- 
istic by  kissing  a  Negro  child  held  up  to  him  by  the 
slave- mother. 


CHAP.  XLV.— SECESSION. 

1860—1861. 

IN  the  seventy-two  years  from  the  adoption  of  the 
Constitution  in  1788  to  1860,  there  had  been  fif- 
teen Presidents  in  the  United  States  —  Washington, 
John  Adams,  Jefferson,  Madison,  Monroe,  John 
Quincy  Adams,  Jackson,  Van  Buren,  Harrison — who, 
dying  in  his  term,  was  succeeded  by  Vice-President 
Tyler — Polk,  Taylor — whose  death  gave  place  to  Fill- 
more — Pierce,  and  Buchanan.  The  election,  in  1860, 
of  a  successor  to  Buchanan,  was  made  in  a  time  when 
party  spirit  was  running  very  high.  From  the  time 
of  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution,  the  question  un- 
derlying all  others  was  the  question  of  "  State  rights  " 
— that  is  to  say,  how  far  the  sovereignty  of  the  single 
State  in  the  Union  is  affected  by  the  Federal  compact. 
South  Carolina,  in  1832,  asserted  the  right  of  a  single 
State  to  <l  nullify "  the  acts  of  Congress.  From  this 


398  Stories  of  American  History. 

extreme  position  she  was  forced  to  recede ;  but  State 
rights  became  more  and  more  a  Southern  idea,  since 
the  subject  of  slavery  was  affected  by  it.  In  the  North, 
the  Federal  or  Union  sentiment  was  the  stronger ;  in 
the  South,  loyalty  to  the  State  in  which  a  citizen  re- 
sided. The  Northern  Democrats  acted  with  the  South. 
The  party  afterward  known  as  Republicans  came  into 
power,  as  against  the  Democrats,  on  this  issue. 

But  the  positions  assumed  by  the  Southerners  cre- 
ated a  division  of  opinion  among  the  Democrats  them- 
selves. The  Missouri  Compromise  of  1820  forbade 
slavery  beyond  a  certain  line.  The  compromise  bro- 
ken, the  Northern  Democrats  maintained  that  slav- 
ery might  be  established,  in  new  Territories,  by  the 
choice  of  the  settlers.  The  Southern  Democrats  main- 
tained that  slavery  did  exist,  as  a  natural  and  political 
law,  until  abolished  by  legislation.  The  Northern 
Democrats  apologized  for  slavery,  and  even  defended 
it,  to  preserve  State  rights  in  the  Union.  The  South- 
ern defended  slavery  for  itself,  and  sought  to  break 
up  the  Union,  to  perpetuate  it,  and  to  maintain  ultra 
views  of  State  sovereignty. 

Thus,  the  Democrats  were  divided,  while  the  Re- 
publicans held  together,  and  elected  as  President  Abra- 
ham Lincoln,  of  Illinois,  an  able,  sensible,  honest  man, 
who  had  worked  himself  up  in  the  world  from  very 


Secession.  399 

small  beginnings.  He  had  been  a  boatman,  a  rail-split- 
ter, or  fence-maker,  a  shopkeeper,  and  a  surveyor. 
During  all  the  time  of  these  occupations  he  was  a  stu- 
dent, and  settled  at  last  upon  the  profession  of  the  law 
and  was  admitted  to  the  bar.  Like  many  country 
lawyers  in  the  United  States,  he  figured  as  a  political 
orator ;  and  the  republication  of  his  speeches,  after  his 
nomination  as  President,  greatly  helped  his  election. 
He  had  held  a  seat  in  the  Legislature  of  his  own  State, 
and  in  Congress.  He  was  known  to  disapprove  of 
slavery,  but  to  see  the  difficulties  of  emancipation,  and 
to  think  that,  though  the  slave  States  could  not,  under 
the  Constitution,  be  disturbed,  Congress  ought  to  for- 
bid the  bringing  of  slavery  into  the  Territories.  In  the 
hot  feelings  of  the  Southerners,  they  reckoned  him  as 
the  enemy  of  their  interests.  They  knew  he  would 
uphold  the  power  of  the  central  Government  as  op- 
posed to  that  of  individual  States  ;  and,  as  nothing  but 
self-interest  could  make  slavery  seem  right,  that  they 
would  be  the  losers,  unless  they  legislated  for  them- 
selves. The  planters  in  South  Carolina  were  sure  that 
the  other  slaveholding  States  would  back  them  in  any 
opposition  to  the  North,  and  decided  on  their  course. 

Lincoln's  election  took  place  in  November,  1860, 
and  in  December  the  South  Carolina  Convention  met 
at  Charleston,  and  repealed  its  acceptance  of  the  United 


400  Stories  of  American  History. 

States  Constitution,  declaring  the  secession  of  the  State 
from  the  Union  amid  public  rejoicings.  The  same 
thing  was  done  in  the  States  of  Mississippi,  Florida, 
Alabama,  Georgia,  Louisiana,  and  Texas,  and  the  se- 
ceding States  agreed  to  join  in  a  Southern  Confeder- 
acy, and  to  elect  a  President  and  Vice-President  of 
their  own.  Jefferson  Davis,  of  Mississippi,  was  chosen 
President,  and  Alexander  H.  Stephens,  of  Georgia, 
Vice-President ;  and  slavery  was  boldly  declared  by 
him  to  be  the  corner-stone  of  the  new  Confederation, 
since  it  was  said  to  be  a  divine  decree  that  the  lower 
races  of  men  should  be  in  bondage  to  the  higher. 

Though  the  election  had  taken  place,  President 
Buchanan  would  not  go  out  of  office  till  March,  1861, 
and  he  ought  to  have  taken  vigorous  measures ;  but 
the  Secretary  of  War,  Floyd,  a  Virginian,  who  had 
practically  the  command  of  the  army,  had  liberally 
distributed  the  national  military  stores  to  the  South- 
ern arsenals,  leaving  the  Northern  unprovided.  These, 
with  the  ships  at  Southern  navy -yards,  were  seized 
by  the  secessionists.  Major  Robert  Anderson,  of  the 
United  States  Army,  in  command  of  Fort  Sumter,  in 
Charleston  Harbor,  asked  for  re-enforcements,  and  was 
refused. 

When  President  Lincoln  entered  upon  his  office  in 
March,  he  declared  that  he  had  no  wish  to  meddle  with 


Secession. 


401 


slavery ;  but  he  also  said  that  secession  was  rebellion, 
and  this,  together  with  a  refusal  of  the  Secretary  of 


Attack  on  Fort  Sumter, 


State  to  recognize  the  official  position  of  the  Southern 
Confederacy,  was  the  signal  for  war.     On  the  nth  of 


26 


402  Stories  of  American  History. 

April,  Major  Anderson  was  summoned  by  General 
Beauregard,  at  the  head  of  a  large  force  of  volunteers, 
to  give  up  Fort  Sumter.  On  his  refusal,  he  was  fired 
upon.  He  held  out  two  days,  but  he  had  only  eighty 
men,  and  his  powder  was  almost  gone,  so  he  was  forced 
to  surrender,  marching  out  with  the  honors  of  war,  and 
spending  his  last  powder  in  a  salute  to  the  Stripes  and 
Stars.  Not  a  man  had  been  hurt  on  either  side ;  but 
the  cannon  that  had  been  fired  showed  that  each  party 
was  in  earnest,  and  that  the  country  must  now  prepare 
itself  for  the  miseries  of  a  civil  war.  The  central  States 
had  to  choose  sides.  The  Virginians,  who  were  proud 
of  Washington's  work,  were  loath  to  upset  it.  But  they 
had  slaves,  and  likewise  cared  for  State  rights ;  so  they 
joined  the  seceding  States,  as  did  Arkansas,  North  Caro- 
lina, and  Tennessee,  though  in  all  these  States  there 
were  some  persons  unwilling  to  break  up  the  Union. 
Richmond,  in  Virginia,  was  made  the  seat  of  the  South- 
ern, or  Confederate,  Government.  Washington  was, 
of  course,  coveted  by  both  parties,  but  the  Federals,  or 
men  of  the  North,  were  able  to  garrison  it,  and  it  was 
defended  by  earthworks  and  a  large  body  of  troops. 

Nobody  was  really  prepared  for  war.  The  United 
States  had  always  kept  a  small  standing  army,  with 
officers  carefully  trained  at  the  Military  School  at 
West  Point.  These  officers  had  gained  experience  in 


Secession.  403 

the  Mexican  War,  and  were  now  pretty  equally  divided 
between  the  North  and  South,  according  to  their 
homes,  and  their  political  opinions.  Under  them  were 
the  volunteers  and  militia,  called  from  their  ordinary 
work,  needing  drill  to  be  made  into  soldiers.  There 
was  plenty  of  stout  courage  and  high  spirit,  and  each 
side  had  the  fullest  confidence  in  its  right,  but  neither 
had  any  training ;  and,  on  the  whole,  the  Southerners 
at  the  outset  were  the  fiercer  and  the  stronger  men. 
But  it  was  a  great  disadvantage  to  them  that  they  had 
not  much  power  of  manufacturing,  and  still  less  of  ship- 
building ;  while  the  Northern  navy,  though  only  at 
first  consisting  of  four  available  ships  at  home,  was 
soon  increased  enough  to  blockade  their  seaports. 
Moreover,  the  laboring  classes  at  the  South  were  all 
slaves,  with  interests  contrary  to  their  masters,  while 
the  North  could  draw  on  its  whole  population  for  sol- 
diers. The  only  wonder  was  that  the  Southern  slaves 
did  not  add  to  the  horrors  of  the  war  by  cruelties  to 
the  helpless  families  of  their  masters  ;  but  they  retained 
their  submissive  habits,  and  in  many  cases  showed  all 
the  best  points  of  the  Negro  nature,  in  kindliness  or 
faithfulness. 


CHAP.  XLVI.— THE  WAR  OF   SECESSION. 

1861—1862. 

/T\HE  boundary  between  the  Confederate  States  and 
J-  those  which  adhered  to  the  Union  was  formed  by 
the  Northern  State  lines  of  Virginia,  Tennessee,  Ar- 
kansas, and  Texas.  The  great  object  of  the  Federals 
was  to  cross  this  boundary,  overrun  the  country,  and 
reduce  it  to  submission.  In  Western  Virginia,  where 
there  were  many  Union  men,  General  George  B. 
McClellan  succeeded  in  driving  out  the  Confederates, 
and  the  district  was  afterward  separated  from  the  old 
State,  and  admitted,  under  the  name  of  West  Vir- 
ginia, as  a  free  State  into  the  Union.  Next  an  at- 
tempt was  made  to  advance  upon  Richmond,  the 
capital  both  of  the  State  of  Virginia  and  of  the  new 
Confederation.  This  led  to  the  first  serious  battle  of 
the  war,  that  of  Bull  Run,  July  21,  1861.  The  forces 
engaged  were  estimated  at  thirty  thousand  on  each 
side.  It  was  in  this  fight  that  one  of  the  Southern 


The   War  of  Secession. 


405 


leaders,   pointing   to    another  officer's   division,  called 
out,  "There's  Jackson,  standing  like  a  stone  wall";  and 


General  Jackson  at  the  Head  of  his  Brigade. 

as  the  name  Jackson  was  not  uncommon,  this  dash- 
ing, daring  officer  was  always  after  distinguished  as 
"  Stonewall  Jackson."  At  three  o'clock  the  South  was 
in  great  danger;  but  the  Northerners  were  exhausted, 
and  a  fresh  body  of  their  enemies  coming  up,  totally 
routed  them.  Nor  was  the  Confederate  army  in  a 
condition  to  follow  up  its  success.  The  Union  sol- 


406  Stories  of  American  History. 

diers,  who  had  no  training,  could  not  retreat  in  order, 
but  fell  back  on  Washington  like  a  disorderly  mob. 
"  Don't  stop  me,  sir — I'm  quite  demoralized!"  cried  a 
man  in  newspaper  language  to  his  officer. 

Three  months  after  Bull  Run,  the  Unionists  met 
a  sad  blow  at  Ball's  Bluff,  on  the  Potomac.  A  de- 
tachment of  the  Union  army,  crossing  the  river  at  that 
point,  was  routed  and  driven  back  with  a  loss  of  eight 
hundred  men.  These  events  showed  the  North  that 
the  South  was  a  terrible  enemy,  and  there  was  a  great 
muster  of  men  from  every  quarter  and  occupation. 
The  women  arranged  excellent  plans  for  nursing  and 
feeding  the  wounded,  and  sending  supplies  of  warm 
clothing  and  extra  rations  of  food  to  the  camps.  Even 
the  little  girls  at  school  made  "  comfort-bags,"  holding 
a  few  things  that  each  man  might  be  glad  to  have, 
such  as  warm  cuffs,  a  handkerchief,  a  few  needles  and 
some  thread,  a  little  book,  or  card,  with  Scripture  text. 
A  national  Sanitary  Commission  was  created,  and, 
with  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Commission,  sys- 
tematized and  directed  the  efforts  of  individuals.  Vol- 
unteer nurses  of  both  sexes  went  to  the  camps  and 
visited  the  hospitals.  Soldiers  on  their  march  to  the 
scene  of  war  were  hospitably  entertained  in  the  cities, 
and  returning  men  on  furlough  or  sick-leave  were 
cared  for.  Indeed,  there  never  was  a  war  marked  by 


The   War  of  Secession.  407 

^/ 

so  much  effort  to  lessen  its  horrors,  and  by  so  little 
wanton  cruelty ;  for,  however  confident  each  side  might 
be  in  its  cause,  there  was  hardly  a  man  who  had  not 
friends  in  the  opposite  party.  It  was  felt  that  the  con- 
tention was  between  brethren. 

There  were  in  1862  fearful  battles  for  the  possession 
of  Richmond.  General  McClellan,  after  his  successes 
in  West  Virginia,  had  been  appointed  to  the  command 
of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac.  His  advanced  guard 
approached  within  six  miles  of  the  capital  of  the  Con- 
federacy in  May.  It  was  attacked  and  driven  back, 
but,  being  re-enforced,  pushed  the  Confederates  into 
Richmond.  After  two  months'  inactivity,  McClellan 
undertook  to  change  his  base,  and  approach  Richmond 
in  another  direction.  Then  at  the  end  of  June  followed 
the  engagements  known  as  the  "  Seven  Days'  Battles 
of  the  Peninsula,"  in  which,  it  is  said,  a  hundred  thou- 
sand men  were  engaged  on  each  side,  and  the  loss  of 
each  was  fifteen  thousand  men.  In  the  last  of  these 
battles,  that  of  Malvern  Hill,  July  ist,  the  Confederates 
were  defeated. 

General  Robert  E.  Lee,  a  Virginian  by  birth,  a 
graduate  of  West  Point,  an  officer  in  the  United 
States  service,  a  hero  of  the  Mexican  War,  who  held 
the  confidence  of  General  Scott,  and  was  summoned 
to  Washington  at  the  commencement  of  the  difficulty 


408  Stories  of  American  History. 

for  consultation,  resigned  at  the  critical  moment,  and 
went  over  to  the  rebellion.  His  devotion  to  his  State 
mastered  other  considerations.  He  proved  to  be  a 
dashing  soldier  yet  a  good  strategist,  with  more  enter- 
prise than  McClellan,  who  was  sometimes  hesitating 
and  always  cautious,  but  to  whom,  for  the  drilling  and 
discipline  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  the  Union 
owed  much. 

General  McClellan  was  relieved  of  a  portion  of  his 
command,  and  General  John  Pope  appointed  com- 
mander of  what  was  termed  the  Army  of  Virginia, 
occupying  the  northern  part  of  the  State.  General 
Lee  threw  the  chief  of  his  force  against  Pope,  and  on 
the  i  gth  and  2oth  of  August  the  Union  army  suffered 
a  disastrous  defeat  at  Manassas,  or  Bull  Run,  where 
the  first  great  battle  occurred.  General  Pope  retired 
within  the  lines  of  defense  near  Washington,  and  was 
transferred,  at  his  own  request,  to  another  command. 
He  had  been  very  successful  in  Western  engagements, 
but  the  fortune  of  war  was  against  him  in  Virginia. 
General  Lee,  early  in  September,  crossed  over  into 
Maryland.  General  McClellan,  who  had  been  rein- 
stated in  his  former  command,  followed  him.  Closely 
pressed  by  the  Union  forces,  and  failing  to  find  the 
sympathy  in  Maryland  for  which  he  hoped,  and  to 
which  he  appealed,  General  Lee  made  a  stand  at  South 


The   War  of  Secession. 


409 


Mountain.     After  a  hard-fought  engagement  he  was 
defeated,  and  fell  back  to  the  Potomac.     Here  took 


Scene  at  the  Battle  of 
An  tie  tarn. 

place  one  of  the 
great  battles  of 
the  war,  called 
the  battle  of  Antietam,  from  the  name  of  a  creek  which 
enters  the  Potomac.  After  two  days  of  skirmishing, 


410  Stories  of  American  History. 

on  the  i/th  of  September  the  bloody  but  indecisive 
battle  was  fought.  The  Union  army  kept  possession 
of  the  field,  but  General  Lee  with  his  army  crossed  the 
Potomac  into  Virginia.  One  hundred  and  fifty  thou- 
sand men  on  both  sides  were  engaged,  and  the  loss, 
including  that  at  South  Mountain,  was  more  than  four- 
teen thousand  on  the  Union  and  twelve  on  the  Con- 
federate side.  The  troops  engaged  in  the  Union  army 
far  outnumbered  their  enemies,  and  much  dissatisfac- 
tion was  expressed  at  Lee's  escape.  But  the  battle  of 
Antietam  was  so  far  a  success  that  President  Lincoln 
took  a  step  which  he  had  delayed  until  a  propitious 
time,  when  it  would  not  be  considered  an  indication  of 
despair.  On  September  22d,  as  a  war  measure,  by 
virtue  of  his  position  as  Commander-in-Chief  of  the 
Army  and  Navy  of  the  United  States,  he  issued  a 
warning  proclamation  that  all  slaves  should  be  declared 
free  in  the  States  in  rebellion  on  January  i,  1863. 

On  the  7th  of  November  General  McClellan  was 
superseded  by  General  Ambrose  E.  Burnside.  A  new 
advance  on  Richmond  was  attempted.  General  Burn- 
side,  on  December  i3th,  attacked  Fredericksburg,  but 
was  repulsed  with  heavy  loss  by  General  Lee.  It  was 
a  desperate  battle,  in  which  the  Union  army  lost  over 
twelve  thousand  men  in  killed,  wounded,  and  missing. 
At  a  previous  period  in  the  war,  Burnside,  serving 


The   War  of  Secession.  411 

under  McClellan,  had  occupied  Fredericksburg,  and 
been  compelled  to  retreat,  and  the  two  events  are 
sometimes  confounded.  The  Union  army,  after  the 
serious  battle  of  Fredericksburg,  fell  back  to  the  vicin- 
ity of  Washington.  So  closed,  for  1862,  active  war- 
fare in  the  East. 

Four  of  the  slaveholding  States  never  joined  the 
secession  movement,  though  many  of  their  citizens 
were  in  sympathy  with  it.  Missouri,  one  of  these 
States,  was  the  scene  of  furious  partisan  warfare.  Ken- 
tucky claimed  to  be  neutral,  but  neither  party  would 
consent  to  this.  A  military  post  in  the  southwestern 
corner  of  the  State  was  occupied  but  abandoned,  and 
the  wave  of  battle  rolled  on  into  Tennessee.  Western 
successes  somewhat  relieved  the  disasters  at  the  East, 
though  there  was  an  immense  slaughter  of  men  and 
waste  of  property  in  more  battles  and  encounters  than 
there  is  space  here  to  recite.  General  Ulysses  S.  Grant, 
who  had  risen  rapidly  in  command  by  previous  brave 
and  skillful  conduct,  captured  Fort  Donelson  on  the 
Cumberland  River,  with  about  fourteen  thousand  pris- 
oners. The  fort  surrendered  February  1 6th,  and  as  the 
only  stipulation  to  which  Grant  would  assent  was  "un- 
conditional surrender,"  the  initials  of  his  name  sug- 
gested Unconditional  Surrender  as  the  popular  name 
for  the  general  who  had  gained  the  first  brilliant  and 


412  Stories  of  American  History. 

decisive  success  of  the  Federal  arms.  The  battle  of 
Shiloh,  or  Pittsburg  Landing,  took  place  on  the  6th 
and  7th  of  April.  It  has  been  aptly  called  the  "  harvest 
of  death."  On  the  first  day  the  Confederate  general, 
Albert  Sidney  Johnston,  was  mortally  wounded,  and 
the  loss  of  each  side  in  the  two  days  is  estimated  at 
nearly  twelve  thousand  men.  Beauregard  succeeded 
Johnston  in  command.  Victory  on  the  first  day  was 
with  the  Confederates,  who  were  the  attacking  party ; 
but  on  the  next,  General  Grant  having  reformed  his 
lines  and  received  heavy  re-enforcements,  Beauregard 
was  forced  to  retreat. 

The  navy  of  the  United  States,  increased  by  build- 
ing and  buying  vessels,  was  by  this  time  so  powerful 
that  the  blockade  of  the  Southern  ports  was  established 
so  far  as  so  vast  a  line  of  sea-coast  could  be.  Many 
points  on  the  coast  were  taken  and  occupied  by  the 
Union  forces.  The  harbor  of  Charleston,  South  Caro- 
lina, was  blocked  up  by  a  great  bar  of  sunken  ships. 
England,  France,  Spain,  and  Portugal  had  recognized 
the  seceding  States  as  having  the  rights  of  belligerents  ; 
and  swift  ships,  which  were  called  "  blockade-runners," 
slipped  past  the  Federal  ships  to  bring  into  the  South- 
ern ports  goods  which  sold  at  a  very  large  price  to 
make  up  for  the  risk.  In  April  Admiral  D.  G.  Farra- 
gut,  commander  of  the  Gulf  blockading  squadron, 


The   War  of  Secession.  413 

passed  up  the  Mississippi,  and,  in  spite  of  forts,  bat- 
teries, gunboats,  and  fire-rafts,  reached  New  Orleans  on 
the  24th,  and  the  city  surrendered.  On  his  way  he 
sunk  or  disabled  six  rebel  steamers.  It  was  a  daring 
exploit.  General  B.  F.  Butler  was  put  in  command 
of  the  city.  It  was  a  center  of  slaveholding  interests  ; 
the  inhabitants  were  very  violent,  and  insulted  their 
victors.  General  Butler  was  forced  to  keep  up  the 
strictest  and  sharpest  rule.  He  at  once  executed  a 
man  who  cut  down  the  United  States  flag,  and  his 
manner  was  so  blunt  and  harsh  that  he  was  exceed- 
ingly hated  and  abused.  But  he  said,  probably  with 
truth,  that  if  he  had  not  been  so  severe  in  silencing 
the  people  of  New  Orleans  and  protecting  his  soldiers 
from  insult,  his  army  would  have  been  provoked  into 
acts  of  revenge,  and  cruelty  would  have  really  begun. 

Farragut  steamed  up  the  Mississippi  and  bombarded 
Vicksburg,  the  last  stronghold  of  the  Confederates  on 
that  river.  For  the  want  of  co-operation  by  land- 
forces  the  siege  was  for  a  time  given  up. 


CHAP.  XLVIL— THE  WAR  OF  SECESSION. 

1863—1864. 

ON  New-Year's  day,  1863,  President  Lincoln  is- 
sued his  second  proclamation,  confirming  the  for- 
mer one,  and  declaring  all  slaves  in  rebel  States  free. 
Early  in  the  war  General  Butler  in  Virginia  had  de- 
clined to  return  escaped  slaves  to  their  masters.  If 
they  were  men,  he  could  not  give  up  fugitives  or  desert- 
ers on  demand  of  the  enemy.  If  they  were  property, 
they  were  "  contraband  of  war."  Contraband  became 
through  the  war  the  designation  of  the  Southern  Ne- 
groes. Those  who  were  employed  in  the  Union 
camps  were  declared  free,  and  this  declaration  finally 
extended  to  all  fugitive  slaves.  After  this,  colored  sol- 
diers began  to  be  regularly  enlisted.  It  was  time. 
General  Butler  had  found  in  New  Orleans  some  free 
colored  troops  preparing  for  the  Confederate  service, 
and  took  them  into  the  service  of  the  Union.  Up  to 
the  time  of  the  first  proclamation  (September  22, 


The   War  of  Secession.  415 

1862),  the  formation  of  colored  regiments  had  not  been 
much  in  favor.  After  that,  the  enlistment  proceeded, 
and  the  colored  troops  fought  well  and  were  excellent 
in  discipline. 

The  spring  of  1863  was  opened  with  what  must  be 
classed  among  the  most  notable  events  of  the  war,  in- 
troducing into  real  work  the  terrible  modern  inven- 
tions for  making  naval  warfare  more  effective.  At  the 
beginning  of  the  contest,  the  United  States  forces  had 
been  compelled  to  withdraw  from  the  Norfolk  Navy- 
Yard,  destroying  the  ships  and  vessels  as  far  as  they 
could.  A  blockading  squadron  was  kept  by  the 
United  States  in  Hampton  Roads.  On  the  8th  of 
March  there  came  steaming  out  of  the  James  River  a 
nondescript  craft,  which  was  said  to  look  like  a  whale- 
boat,  bottom  up.  It  was  an  old  war-steamship,  called 
the  Merrimac.  Over  her  deck  was  a  canopy  fore  and 
aft  of  timber  and  railroad-iron,  and  her  bow  was  fur- 
nished with  a  steel  ram.  She  made  sad  havoc  of  the 
blockading  squadron,  whose  shot  glanced  from  her  ar- 
mor, while  she  was  furnished  with  heavier  guns  than 
had  ever  before  been  used  on  shipboard.  She  sunk 
one  vessel,  burned  another,  and  drove  a  third  aground, 
and  then  retired  up  the  James  River  to  refit.  That 
same  evening  there  came  into  Hampton  Roads  an- 
other nondescript,  which  looked  "  like  a  cheese-box 


416 


Stories  of  American  History. 


on  a  raft."     It  was  the  Monitor,  an  armor-clad  turret- 
ship,  invented  by  John   Ericsson,  an  engineer  and  na- 


Monitor  attacking  the  Merrimac. 

val  architect,  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  of  Swed- 
ish birth.  The  Monitor  was  commanded  by  Captain 
John  L.  Worden,  of  the  United  States  Navy.  When 
the  Merrimac  came  out  for  a  second  day's  work,  she 
found  an  unexpected  antagonist.  The  two  vessels 
fired  at  each  other  at  short  range  for  two  hours  with- 
out much  effect,  till  a  shell  thrown  through  a  port-hole 
of  the  Merrimac  forced  her  to  retire,  with  many  of  her 
crew  killed  or  disabled. 

In  1863  the  campaign  opened  with  a  most  disastrous 


The   War  of  Secession.  417 

defeat  of  the  Union  troops.  General  Joseph  Hooker, 
who  had  succeeded  Burnside,  advanced  into  Virginia, 
taking  a  strong  position  at  Chancellorsville.  Here  he 
was  attacked  by  "  Stonewall"  Jackson  on  May  2d,  and 
on  the  3d  a  disastrous  defeat  compelled  him  to  fall  back. 
The  Union  loss  in  this  advance  and  retreat  was  about 
seventeen  thousand,  including  five  thousand  prisoners ; 
the  Confederate  about  twelve  thousand,  of  whom  two 
thousand  were  prisoners.  But  the  heaviest  loss  to 
the  Southerners  was  that  of  "  Stonewall"  Jackson,  who 
was  shot  on  the  night  of  the  2d  by  his  own  men  in 
mistake. 

Both  sides  were  getting  depressed  and  weary. 
Volunteers  in  the  North  were  used  up  by  the  terrible 
slaughter  of  the  battles,  and  men  had  to  be  drafted, 
which  occasioned  great  dissatisfaction,  culminating  in 
the  city  of  New  York  in  a  fearful  riot.  General  Lee 
thought  it  was  a  good  time  for  another  rush  into  the 
North.  He  crossed  the  Potomac  and  advanced  into 
Pennsylvania,  with  all  his  available  force,  and  on  June 
27th  had  massed  his  army  near  Chambersburg.  The 
Union  army  moved  north  and  concentrated  at  Gettys- 
burg, a  few  miles  distant.  General  George  G.  Meade, 
who  had  succeeded  Hooker  in  the  command  of  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac,  having  learned  by  an  intercept- 
ed letter  that  Lee  could  expect  no  re-enforcements,  of- 
27 


418 


Stories  of  American  History. 


fered  him  battle  and  chose  the  ground.  A  frightful 
battle  it  was,  lasting  the  first  three  days  of  July,  and 
covering  the  field  with  forty  thousand  dead  and 


Repulsing  a  Charge  at  tJie  Battle  of  Gettysburg. 


wounded  men.    Lee  retreated,  and  the  battle  of  Gettys- 
burg was  the  turning  point  of  the  war. 


The   War  of  Secession.  419 

At  the  very  time  that  this  battle  was  being  fought, 
Vicksburg,  the  great  Confederate  stronghold  on  the 
Mississippi,  was  being  surrendered  to  General  Grant, 
Farragut  co-operating  with  his  fleet.  After  nearly  six 
months'  operations  against  the  post,  with  fearful  loss 
of  life,  ending  in  a  close  siege,  Vicksburg  capitulated 
on  the  4th  of  July,  and  Grant  received  the  parole  of 
twenty  thousand  prisoners.  Other  posts  were  captured, 
and  after  two  years  of  battle,  blockade,  and  siege,  the 
Mississippi  River  was  open  to  the  Gulf,  and  all  Confed- 
erate supplies  from  the  west  of  the  river  were  cut  off. 

Now  President  Lincoln  began  to  say  that  peace  did 
not  seem  so  far  off ;  but  war  had  to  be  pushed  all  the 
more  to  secure  it.  The  Confederate  cause  was  desper- 
ate, but  the  Southerners  still  were  resolved  to  "  fight 
it  out  till  they  had,"  as  they  said,  "  played  their  last 
man."  In  September  they  attacked  and  defeated  a 
large  Federal  force  which  had  occupied  Chattanooga, 
near  the  border-line  of  Tennessee  and  Georgia.  From 
this  point,  as  a  base,  it  was  intended  to  invade  Georgia. 
But  at  Chickamauga  the  advancing  Federals  were 
met,  defeated,  driven  back  to  Chattanooga,  and  be- 
sieged there  almost  to  the  point  of  starvation.  The 
siege-works  included  batteries  on  hills  overlooking  the 
town.  In  November  Grant  came  to  its  relief,  and  on 
the  24th  the  battle  of  Chattanooga  was  fought,  pro- 


420  Stories  of  American  History. 

nounced  one  of  the  most  remarkable  in  history.  The 
Federal  troops  made  their  preliminary  movements  with 
such  order  and  precision  that  the  Confederates  thought 
they  were  only  holding  a  review,  so  complete  had  their 
discipline  become.  They  charged  the  Confederates  in 
their  works,  fighting  up-hill,  and  the  encounter  of  one 
of  the  attacking  divisions,  commanded  by  General 
Hooker,  familiarly  called  "  Fighting  Joe,"  is  spoken  of  as 
the  "  battle  above  the  clouds."  The  besiegers  were  dis- 
lodged and  routed,  and  the  Confederate  army  was  short- 
ly driven  out  of  Tennessee.  Congress  voted  thanks  to 
the  general  and  his  army,  and  a  gold  medal  to  General 
Grant.  The  office  of  "  lieutenant-general,"  first  held  by 
Washington,  then  vacant  until  the  time  of  General 
Scott,  vacant  again  upon  his  retirement,  was  revived 
by  special  act  of  Congress,  and  the  appointment  con- 
ferred upon  General  Grant.  The  lieutenant-general, 
the  President  of  the  United  States  being  general-in- 
chief,  has  actual  command  of  all  the  armies  of  the 
Government.  The  loss  in  these  two  battles  was  over 
twenty  thousand  men  on  each  side. 

Grant  issued  his  first  general  order  as  commander- 
in-chief  in  March,  1864,  and  announced  that  his  head- 
quarters would  be  with  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  in 
the  field.  General  W.  T.  Sherman  was  left  in  com- 
mand of  the  Department  of  the  Mississippi.  Grant, 


The   War  of  Secession.  421 

on  the  morning  of  the  4th  of  May,  crossed  the  Rapi- 
dan  River  with  a  force  of  one  hundred  thousand  men. 
The  country  into  which  they  marched  was  dotted 
with  forests,  having  an  almost  impassable  undergrowth. 
Here  commenced,  May  6th,  a  series  of  the  most  fierce 
and  sanguinary  battles  of  the  war.  Generals  Grant 
and  Meade,  with  Richmond  as  their  object,  were  kept 
at  bay,  and  fought  successively  six  battles,  the  battle  of 
the  Wilderness  being  the  first ;  and  there  were  several 
minor  affairs  and  skirmishes.  After  each  engagement 
Grant  pushed  farther  south.  Had  he  moved  toward 
Washington,  such  movements  would  have  been  called 
retreats.  On  the  i2th  of  June  he  crossed  the  James 
River  above  Richmond,  having  lost  in  these  battles 
sixty  thousand  men,  in  killed,  wounded,  and  prisoners. 
Ths  Confederate  loss  was  about  one  third  as  many. 
The  scene  of  the  struggle  was  transferred  to  the  south- 
ern side  of  the  James  River.  The  main  body  of  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac  was,  by  the  middle  of  July,  he- 
fore  Petersburg,  twenty-three  miles  south  of  Richmond. 
Repeated  attacks  upon  the  Confederate  works  cost  the 
Union  army  over  ten  thousand  men.  The  slower  pro- 
cess of  a  regular  siege  was  adopted,  and  such  a  siege, 
by  the  courage  and  skill  of  its  defenders,  the  Confed- 
erate force,  with  the  army  of  Lee  behind  it,  sustained 
for  nearly  ten  months. 


422  Stories  of  American  History. 

General  B.  F.  Butler  had  in  May,  while  the  fierce 
battles  of  the  Wilderness  were  going  on,  advanced  up 
the  James  River.  Deceiving  the  Confederates  by  a 
feint  against  Richmond,  his  troops  were  on  the  night 
of  the  4th  of  May  embarked  in  transports  on  York 
River,  and  in  twenty-four  hours  were  landed  within 
fifteen  miles  of  Richmond,  at  Bermuda  Hundred,  at 
the  confluence  of  the  James  and  Appomattox,  with 
intrenchments  in  their  front,  and  gunboats  on  both 
flanks  on  the  rivers.  Thus  the  James  River  was  kept 
open  for  the  supply  of  recruits  for  the  sadly  depleted 
Union  army.  General  Butler's  force  of  thirty-five  thou- 
sand men  included  a  brigade  of  colored  troops.  Though 
the  first  position  at  Bermuda  Hundred  was  secured 
without  any  loss,  there  was  fierce  fighting  afterward. 
The  Negroes,  invaluable  as  laborers,  in  intrenching  and 
mining,  exhibited  in  battle  and  in  storming  intrench- 
ments a  fierce  courage  and  contempt  of  danger  unex- 
ceeded  by  any  soldiers  in  the  army.  Colonel  Robert 
B.  Shaw,  who  commanded  the  First  Massachusetts 
Colored  Regiment,  fell  with  a  large  part  of  his  troops 
in  an  assault  on  Fort  Wagner,  near  Charleston,  and 
was  buried  by  the  Confederates  in  a  common  grave 
with  his  dark  soldiers.  In  the  WTest,  Confederate  com- 
manders had  given  the  warning,  "  No  quarter  will  be 
shown  to  Negro  troops  whatever."  Fort  Pillow,  on 


The   War  of  Secession. 


423 


the  Mississippi,  was  taken  by  a  Confederate  force  in 
April,  1864,  and  three  hundred  of  its  garrison  massa- 
cred, both  colored  and  white ;  the  latter  as  traitors  to 
their  Southern  birthplaces.  It  is  just  to  say  that  this 
atrocious  act  was  without  its  parallel  during  the  war. 


CHAP.  XLVIIL— DEFEAT  OF  THE  SOUTH. 

1864—1865. 

WHILE  the  Union  operations  against  Peters- 
burg and  Richmond  were  in  progress,  July, 
1864,  Lee  aimed  to  relieve  Richmond  by  a  demonstra- 
tion against  Washington.  An  expedition  under  Gen- 
eral Jubal  Early  invaded  Pennsylvania  and  Maryland, 
and  put  Washington  and  Baltimore  in  peril.  Wash- 
ington was  re-enforced,  and  Early,  after  several  sharp 
encounters  with  Union  troops,  and  firing  Chambers- 
burg,  fell  back  into  Virginia.  In  the  Shenandoah  Val- 
ley General  Philip  H.  Sheridan  and  General  Early 
were  brilliant  commanders,  well  matched.  Early  was 
defeated  in  the  battles  of  Winchester  and  Fisher's  Hill. 
The  Union  army  then  was  posted  at  Cedar  Creek,  a 
position  so  strong  that  General  Sheridan,  leaving  an- 
other officer  in  command,  went  to  the  city  of  Wash- 
ington on  official  business.  General  Early,  on  the 
morning  of  October  igth,  surprised,  defeated,  and 


Defeat  of  the  South.  425 

compelled  the  Union  troops  to  retreat.  A  part  of 
their  artillery  was  captured  and  turned  upon  them. 
General  Sheridan,  who  had  reached  Winchester  on  his 
return,  unsuspicious  of  any  disaster,  was  alarmed  by 
certain  indications,  and  hurried  forward  to  the  rescue. 
This  incident  is  known  as  "  Sheridan's  Ride."  He 
met  and  rallied  the  fugitives,  led  them  back,  recovered 
the  camps  and  the  abandoned  cannon,  and  routed  in 
their  turn  the  late  victors. 

The  vessels  belonging  to  the  United  States  mer- 
cantile marine  had  by  this  time  nearly  disappeared 
from  the  ocean.  They  had  been  sold  to  foreign  mer- 
chants, or  taken  by  Confederate  privateers.  Of  these 
cruisers  there  were  six  afloat  in  1864,  which  captured 
over  two  hundred  American  vessels,  burning  or  de- 
stroying four  fifths  of  their  pri2es.  But  in  June,  1864, 
a  check  was  given  to  these  piratical  exploits.  The 
Alabama,  a  Confederate  cruiser  built  in  England,  with 
the  best  modern  appliances,  met  her  fate,  after  having 
captured  sixty-seven  American  vessels,  forty-five  of 
which  she  destroyed.  The  Alabama  was  lying  in  the 
French  port  of  Cherbourg,  when  the  U.  S.  steam  frig- 
ate Kearsarge,  Captain  John  A.  Winslow,  appeared 
off  the  harbor.  The  commander  of  the  Confederate 
ship,  Raphael  Semmes,  sent  a  challenge  to  the  Kear- 
sarge, and  on  the  igth,  Sunday,  steamed  out  for  the 


426  Stories  of  American  History. 

"  sea-duel,"  which  was  witnessed  by  thousands  on  the 
French  shore.  An  English  yacht  followed.  The  bat- 
tle lasted  a  little  over  an  hour,  the  two  vessels  steam- 
ing round  and  round  delivering  broadsides,  till  the 
Alabama  was  found  to  be  in  a  sinking  condition  and 
shortly  after  went  down.  Sixty-five  of  her  crew  were 
picked  up  by  the  Kearsarge.  Semmes,  his  officers, 
and  some  men  were  saved  by  the  yacht  and  landed  in 
England.  In  this  memorable  sea-fight,  one  of  the  most 
remarkable  incidents  of  the  great  Secession  War,  not 
the  least  marvel  was  that  on  both  sides  only  ten  men 
were  killed  and  twenty-three  wounded.  Of  the  latter, 
two  were  drowned.  The  loss  of  the  Kearsarge  was 
only  one  killed  and  two  wounded.  The  Shcnandoah, 
another  Confederate  cruiser,  was  meanwhile  operating 
in  the  Indian  Ocean.  She  captured  some  twenty  ves- 
sels on  her  cruise,  and  then,  treacherously  flying  the 
United  States  flag,  made  her  appearance  in  the  Arctic 
seas  and  "  lighted  up  the  ice-floes  with  incendiary 
fires,"*  capturing  ten  whale-ships  and  burning  eight  of 
them  in  a  group.  This  was  in  June,  1865,  after  the 
war  closed,  and  after  the  pirate  knew  it.  But  he  did 
not  regard  the  newspapers  as  "  official." 

The  blockade  of  the  Southern  ports  was  now  so  far 
effective  that  only  two  remained  accessible  to  the  run- 

*  Lossing. 


Defeat  of  the  South.  427 

ners,  Mobile  in  Alabama  and  Wilmington  in  North 
Carolina.  Mobile  was  taken  in  August  by  Admiral 
Farragut,  with  the  co-operation  of  a  land-force.  Both 
places  were  defended  by  strong  fortifications,  and  at 
each  was  a  formidable  ram,  modeled  after  the  famous 
Merrimac.  Farragut's  squadron  passed  the  forts,  but 
the  vessel  in  advance,  the  ironclad  Tecumseh,  struck  a 
torpedo,  and  sunk,  carrying  down  her  commander  and 
nearly  all  his  officers  and  crew.  Only  seventeen  es- 
caped. Farragut  in  his  flag-ship  took  the  lead,  direct- 
ing the  movements  of  his  fleet  from  the  maintop  of  his 
vessel,  where  he  was  fastened  with  a  rope.  The  gun- 
boats and  the  ram  were  next  encountered,  and  the  day 
ended  with  the  capture  of  one  of  the  enemy's  boats,  and 
the  withdrawal  of  the  others  to  the  inner  harbor.  The 
next  morning  the  formidable  ram  came  rushing  down, 
but  was  pounded  by  the  Union  fleet  till  she  struck. 
In  this  engagement  the  Federal  fleet  was  far  superior 
in  the  number  of  vessels.  But  the  Confederates  had 
the  co-operation  of  the  forts,  which  were  not  taken 
until  several  days  after  their  fleet  was  destroyed ;  and 
they  had  also  the  hidden  terror  of  torpedoes,  one  only 
of  which  exploded.  Mobile  was  closed  to  the  block- 
ade-runners. So,  soon  after,  was  Wilmington,  after  a 
desperate  resistance.  Her  "ram"  was  sunk  by  a  tor- 
pedo-boat, managed  by  a  young  lieutenant,  William  B. 


428 


Stories  of  American  History. 


Admiral  Farragut  in  the  Maintop. 


Defeat  of  the  South.  429 

Gushing.  Meanwhile  raiding  parties  had  cut  off  the 
roads  to  Richmond,  leaving  the  Confederate  army  there 
only  the  hope  that  the  troops  from  the  South  would 
come  to  their  relief. 

President  Lincoln  had,  in  November,  1864,  been 
re-elected  by  a  vast  majority  over  McClellan,  who  was 
the  opposing  candidate.  While  the  South  now  hoped, 
the  North  waited.  But  all  doubt  was  soon  removed. 
The  Union  troops  at  the  Southwest  kept  the  Confed- 
erates busy  in  a  series  of  fierce  battles.  In  December 
President  Lincoln  received  a  dispatch  from  Sherman, 
presenting  as  a  Christmas  present  the  city  of  Savannah. 
Close  upon  this  tidings  the  Congress  of  the  United 
States  took  up  and  passed  the  "  thirteenth  amend- 
ment," abolishing  slavery,  on  the  President's  earnest 
recommendation,  and  thus,  the  States  afterward  assent- 
ing, the  "  war  measure  "  became  a  constitutional  pro- 
vision for  peace  in  the  future. 

On  the  1 6th  of  November  General  Sherman,  with 
sixty-five  thousand  men,  had  commenced  from  Atlanta, 
Georgia,  his  "  march  to  the  sea."  The  army  moved  in 
two  columns,  subsisting  on  the  country.  Previously 
to  his  departure  Sherman  fired  and  destroyed  the 
business  portion  of  the  town,  which  had  been  a  chief 
source  of  supply  of  war  material  to  the  Confederates. 
He  renounced  all  idea  of  a  "  base,"  occupied  no  posts, 


430  Stories  of  American  History. 

kept  no  line  of  communication,  sent  advance  detach- 
ments to  secure  the  roads  and  fords  before  him,  and  de- 
stroyed bridges  and  roads  behind  him,  as  he  pressed 
forward.  He  cut  the  wires,  and  shut  himself  from 
telegraphic  communication  with  friend  and  foe.  In  a 
month  he  reached  Savannah,  whence,  as  we  have  seen, 
he  was  "  heard  from."  Here  he  was  put  in  communi- 
cation with  the  United  States  blockading  fleet.  He 
summoned  General  Hardee  to  surrender,  and  was  re- 
fused. While  Sherman  was  making  ready  for  an  as- 
sault, Hardee  escaped  in  the  night  of  the  2oth  of  De- 
cember, and  marched  with  fifteen  thousand  men  for 
Charleston.  The  Union  army  occupied  Savannah  un- 
opposed, and  here,  for  the  first  time  in  his  march  of  two 
hundred  and  fifty  miles,  Sherman  left  a  garrison.  On 
the  march  he  lost  only  five  hundred  and  seventy  men. 
Sherman's  army  next  took  Columbia,  the  capital  of 
South  Carolina,  February  i5th.  The  beautiful  town 
was  burned,  the  disaster  resulting  from  the  attempt  of 
the  Confederates  to  burn  bales  of  cotton  which  would 
else  have  been  captured.  Charleston,  which  had  en- 
dured a  siege  and  blockade  for  months,  was  abandoned 
by  the  Confederates,  General  Hardee  leaving  with  his 
troops,  after  effecting  as  much  destruction  as  possible, 
making,  as  he  did  from  Savannah,  his  movement  in  the 
night.  The  next  day  the  Federal  forces  moved  in,  and 


Defeat  of  the  South.  431 

set  to  work  extinguishing  the  flames  which  had  been 
lighted  by  the  retreating  Confederates.  During  the 
conflagration  five  hundred  persons  were  killed  by  the 
explosion  of  magazines.  Sherman  still  pursued  his  way 
to  the  North,  and  after  two  battles  and  much  skirmish- 
ing reached  Goldsborough,  North  Carolina,  on  March 
23d,  where  he  was  joined  by  the  Union  troops  under 
General  Schofield. 

The  campaign  opened  near  Richmond  in  March, 
1865,  with  various  movements  at  first  directed  to  the 
cutting  off  the  connections  of  that  city  with  its  sources 
of  supply,  and  then  to  the  capture  of  the  Confederate 
capital  and  army.  On  Saturday,  April  ist,  the  Con- 
federates were  defeated  at  the  battle  of  the  Five  Forks ; 
and  on  the  evening  of  the  same  day  a  cannonade  was 
opened  on  the  whole  Confederate  line  round  Peters- 
burg. It  was  continued  till  four  o'clock  on  Sunday 
morning,  and  then  with  furious  fighting  an  assault  was 
made,  and  Lee's  army  was  driven  within  its  interior 
lines.  Re-enforcements  arrived,  and  Lee  ordered  a 
sortie  against  the  besiegers.  It  was  the  last  charge, 
though  made  with  desperate  courage.  The  Confeder- 
ate party  fell  back,  and  Lee  telegraphed  to  Jefferson 
Davis  in  Richmond  that  the  capital  of  the  Confederacy 
must  be  evacuated. 

Davis  received  the  telegram  in  church.     His  face 


432  Stories  of  American  History. 

and  manner  indicated  sad  tidings  as  he  hastened  out. 
The  information  was  not  communicated  to  the  public ; 
but  the  religious  services  were  closed,  the  congrega- 
tion dismissed,  and  rumors  distracted  the  city.  When 
by  the  removal  of  boxes  from  the  public  offices  the 
whole  truth  was  discovered,  the  rush  of  those  who 
wished  to  get  away  was  made  in  wild  confusion.  Huge 
sums  were  paid  for  horses  and  wagons.  The  gold  in 
the  banks  was  sent  off.  Jefferson  Davis  and  all  his 
government  left  the  city,  its  sole  representative  re- 
maining behind  being  an  officer  in  the  War  Depart- 
ment. It  was  a  pity  he  had  not  gone  too.  With 
nightfall  came  terror  and  dismay.  The  city  council 
ordered  the  destruction  of  all  spirituous  liquors.  The 
gutters  ran  with  whisky,  and  parties  of  the  intoxicated 
soldiers,  joined  by  mobs,  sacked  the  shops  and  set  fire 
to  many  buildings.  The  warehouses  containing  cotton 
and  tobacco  were  fired  by  order  of  the  representative 
of  the  government,  and,  the  official  torch  once  applied, 
incendiary  fires  increased.  Ships  were  burned,  not  only 
government  but  private  property ;  and  the  explosions 
of  magazines  and  war -vessels  added  horror  to  the 
night's  alarms.  As  the  last  of  the  retreating  soldiers 
crossed  the  James  River,  they  destroyed  the  bridges 
behind  them.  It  was  said  that  over  seven  hundred 
buildings  were  destroyed. 


Defeat  of  the  South.  433 

At  eight  o'clock  on  Monday  morning  the  Federal 
troops  marched  in,  a  brigade  of  colored  soldiers  head- 
ing the  column.  Their  first  work  was  the  extinguish- 
ing the  fire,  which  had  destroyed  one  third  of  the 
city.  The  place  was  put  under  martial  law,  the  flag 
of  the  Union  floated  over  the  Virginia  State-House, 
order  was  established,  and  not  a  few  of  the  citizens 
rejoiced  at  their  deliverance.  The  blacks  were  jubilant, 
but,  true  to  their  character,  were  guilty  of  no  violence. 
Over  the  North  flew  the  tidings,  and  it  was  a  day  of 
such  rejoicing  as  found  expression  not  only  in  hilarious 
gatherings  but  in  devout  religious  services. 

On  the  next  Sunday,  April  gth,  Lee  surrendered 
to  Grant  at  Appomattox  Court-House.  The  terms, 
highly  honorable  to  the  victors,  were  release  of  the 
vanquished  on  their  simple  word  of  honor,  and  the 
usual  surrender  of  arms ;  and  rations  were  at  once 
issued  to  the  famished  Confederate  soldiers  from  the 
United  States  stores.  Private  cavalry -men,  who 
owned  their  own  horses,  were  even  permitted  to  ride 
home  upon  them.  The  week  had  been  a  wearisome 
one.  General  Lee  had  made  bold  attempts  to  get 
away  with  the  remnant  of  his  army,  but  was  foiled. 
His  men  had  dropped  step  by  step  from  sheer  hunger; 
and  many  had  thrown  down  their  muskets,  too  faint 
to  carry  them. 
28 


434  Stories  of  American  History. 

And  yet  there  remained  another  crushing  disaster 
for  the  South.  On  the  i4th  of  April,  1861,  General 
Robert  Anderson  surrendered  Fort  Sumter  to  the 
Confederates.  On  the  i4th  of  April,  1865,  he  hoisted 
over  Sumter  the  same  old  tattered  ensign,  which  he 
had  saved  for  years,  in  the  faith  of  its  restoration.  On 
the  evening  of  the  same  day,  Abraham  Lincoln  was 
murdered  by  an  assassin  while  seated  with  his  wife 
and  friends  in  a  theatre  in  Washington.  It  was  the 
crowning  defeat  of  the  South.  The  feeling  of  com- 
promise, which  had  begun  to  show  itself  among  many 
persons  at  the  North,  disappeared.  The  North  stood 
up  in  the  fury  of  what  at  first  appeared  a  righteous 
anger;  and  the  South,  humiliated,  disclaimed  the  act 
of  the  miscreant,  who  had  followed  his  crime  by  rant- 
ing on  the  stage  the  motto  of  Virginia,  "  Sic  semper 
tyrannis? 


CHAP.   XLIX.— CONCLUSION. 

I  ISM  AY  and  grief  went  through  the  land  with 
the  tidings  of  the  murder.  Men  looked  at  each 
other  with  questioning  fear  whether  the  distracted 
country  which  had  borne  so  terrible  a  strain  in  open 
warfare  could  yet  contend  with  a  dark  conspiracy. 
The  assassin  escaped  from  the  scene  of  his  crime,  find- 
ing a  horse  ready  saddled,  and  no  one  could  say  who 
or  how  many  were  leagued  with  him  in  guilt ;  no  one 
could  tell  how  far  the  foes  of  the  republic  had  spread 
the  mine,  the  explosion  of  which  was  to  hurl  back  into 
anarchy  the  peace  which  had  been  won  by  brave  con- 
querors over  a  foe  as  brave.  Indignation  was  reawak- 
ened in  the  North  against  such  persons  as  were  known 
as  open  advocates  of  the  southern  cause,  or  suspected 
as  sympathizers.  A  multitude  of  excited  men  had 
gathered  in  the  city  of  New  York,  ready  at  a  word  to 
move  on  the  work  of  destruction.  Suddenly  there  ap- 
peared upon  a  balcony  above  them  a  man  whose  mien 


436  Stories  of  American  History. 

betokened  a  leader  of  men.  He  waved  the  flag  of  his 
country,  as  bespeaking  attention,  and  the  crowd 
hushed  to  listen.  They  thought,  perhaps,  that  here 
was  the  man  for  whom  they  waited.  Among  the  first 
words  he  spake  were,  "  The  Lord  God  omnipotent 
reigneth  ! "  They  asked,  "  Who  is  this  ?  and  what 
does  he  mean?"  It  was  James  A.  Gar  field,  as  a  sol- 
dier, brave  ;  as  a  statesman,  wise ;  as  an  orator,  elo- 
quent ;  and,  as  a  man  not  ashamed  to  confess  and  to 
worship  "  Him  who  sitteth  between  the  cherubim,  be 
the  earth  never  so  unquiet."  He  reasoned  the  turbu- 
lent multitude  into  forbearance,  and  inspired  them 
with  his  own  hope  and  courage.  New  York  was 
saved  from  deeds  of  violence,  which  might  by  the  ex- 
ample have  set  the  whole  land  in  a  blaze. 

If  the  murder  of  Abraham  Lincoln  was  the  crown- 
ing defeat  of  the  South,  the  proudest  victory  of  the 
North  was  in  the  generous  course  which  was  taken 
by  the  nation  with  those  who  lately  sought  to  destroy 
it.  Probably,  had  Lincoln  not  been  murdered,  there 
would  have  been  greater  leniency  still.  The  serpent 
of  slavery  might  have  been  "  scotched,  not  killed."  A 
brief  time  restored  the  national  confidence.  The  Vice- 
President,  Andrew  Johnson,  assumed  office  as  the  Con- 
stitution provides,  and  the  functions  of  government, 
not  stopped  for  a  day,  went  on.  Within  six  hours 


Conclusion.  43  7 


after  the  death  of  the  President,  his  successor  took  the 
oath  of  office.  Investigation  narrowed  down  the  con- 
spiracy to  nine  persons ;  and  diligent  search  failed  to 
implicate  any  more.  Of  these,  the  murderer,  John 
Wilkes  Booth,  was  shot  and  mortally  wounded  while 
resisting  his  captors  ;  eight  were  tried  by  court-martial, 
of  whom  four  were  hanged  and  four  sentenced  to 
imprisonment.  The  charge  against  them  included  a 
murderous  assault,  made  at  the  time  when  Lincoln 
was  murdered,  upon  the  Secretary  of  State,  William 
H.  Seward,  who  survived  his  wounds  still  to  serve  his 
country. 

After  Johnson  came  General  Grant,  who  served 
eight  years,  and,  after  Grant,  Rutherford  B.  Hayes,  who 
served  one  term.  After  Hayes  came  the  broken  term 
of  Garfield.  Under  these  successive  Presidents  the 
work  of  "  reconstruction  "  went  on,  and  the  States  late 
in  rebellion  came  back  under  prescribed  conditions. 
It  were  tedious  to  tell  the  political  difficulties  which 
this  work  involved,  nor  has  it  been  possible  to  note 
all  the  men  who  have  figured  in  the  stirring  events  of 
the  Great  Civil  War.  Many  of  those  events,  each  of 
itself  a  history,  have  been  passed  over. 

The  freedmen  have  been  quiet,  and  though  thou- 
sands of  them  are  not  yet  competent  to  exercise  the 
right  of  suffrage,  they  are  eager  to  learn.  Of  the  arti- 


43 8  Stories  of  American  History. 

cles  which  it  has  been  the  fashion  to  say  could  only  be 
raised  by  slave-labor,  the  annual  returns  are,  on  the 
whole,  as  large  as  ever.  In  some  there  is  as  yet  a 
falling  off,  but  the  later  cotton-crops  are  among  the 
greatest  ever  raised.  No  coolies  have  been  needed  to 
produce  this  result;  for  the  colored  people  number 
over  six  millions  and  a  half  of  the  fifty  millions  of 
people  in  the  United  States — about  two  millions  more 
than  in  1870.  Of  Asiatics,  chiefly  Chinese,  of  whose 
"  invasion  "  so  much  has  been  said,  there  are  only  about 
one  hundred  and  six  thousand,  and  they  are  not  increas- 
ing. Some  excitement  was  produced  a  few  years  ago 
by  the  "  exodus  "  of  freedmen  from  their  former  slave 
homes.  It  is  the  privilege  of  freemen  to  go  where 
they  list,  and  this  evidence  of  freedom  no  doubt  had 
its  effect.  But  a  curious  fact  appears  from  the  census- 
tables  of  1880.  The  relative  proportion  of  colored 
people  to  white  has  largely  increased  in  nine  of  the 
former  slave  States,  and  especially  in  those  from  which 
the  exodus  took  place. 

A  leading  American  gazetteer,  with  pardonable 
complacency,  remarks  that  a  stranger  visiting  the 
United  States  would  scarcely  realize  that  so  great  an 
internecine  war  had  raged  so  recently.  If  the  hand  of 
Time  has  in  a  brief  period  covered  the  traces  of  ruin 
and  desolation,  the  memory  of  the  bitterness  of  the 


Conclusion. 


439 


past  and  its  causes  can  also  be  charitably  buried. 
There  was  terrible  suffering  in  prisons  and  prison- 
camps  ;  and  there  have  been  acts  of  violence  and  in- 
timidation against  the  freedmen,  now  become  by  the 
gift  of  suffrage  the  political  rulers  of  their  former  own- 
ers. On  these  we  need  not  dwell.  The  truth  that 
"  life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness  "  are  the  her- 
itage of  all  men  is  asserted  before  all  the  world,  on  the 
continent  which  has  tested  so  many  vital  questions. 
No  one  who  believes  in  a  controlling  Providence  can 
doubt  the  issue. 


7'he  Centennial  Exhibition  Building. 

The  Americans  claim  that  the  union  of  their  States 
is  stronger  than  ever.     It  would  seem  that  all  nations 


44-O  Stories  of  American  History. 

conceded  that  claim  when  their  co-operation  gave  to 
the  United  States  Centennial  Exposition  of  1876  a 
splendor  never  achieved  before,  and  when  the  youngest 
nation  in  the  world  received  the  elder  nation  with  the 
hospitality,  if  also  with  the  confident  poise  and  easy 
self-assurance,  of  an  heir  just  come  into  his  estate,  de- 
spite all  other  claimants. 

Honor  was  further  rendered  when  General  Grant, 
successful  leader  in  the  closing  triumphs  of  the  contest 
which  the  nation  made  under  Abraham  Lincoln,  laid 
down  his  military  and  his  civil  authority,  and  traveled 
round  the  world,  the  private  citizen  of  the  Great  Re- 
public. Such  personal  tribute  no  untitled  man,  with 
no  power  in  his  hands  or  benefits  in  his  gift,  ever 
received  before.  But  the  nation  stood  behind  the 
man,  and  the  honor  given,  while  his  own  just  due,  was 
paid  also  to  the  people  he  represented,  and  to  the  cause 
of  the  right  which  he,  with  his  patriotic  countrymen, 
had  vindicated. 

Again  upon  the  United  States  the  eyes  of  the  world 
were  turned.  A  second  time  the  chief  magistrate  was 
stricken  down  by  the  hand  of  an  assassin.  The 
wretched  murderer  in  this  case  had  no  associates,  and 
his  act  had  no  public  significance.  Scarce  had  the 
newly  elected  President,  in  1881,  entered  upon  his 
duties,  when  he  fell.  James  A.  Garfield,  with  his  liv- 


Conclusion.  441 


ing  voice  for  the  right,  had  held  a  nation  in  check, 
when  roused  to  fury  by  a  foul  deed  like  that  by  which 
he  now  was  sacrificed.  For  many  sad  weeks,  and 
weary  with  sorrow,  the  world  waited  for  his  dying 
breath.  From  all  lands  came  the  expression  of  deep 
sympathy.  Shot  down  on  July  2, 1881,  he  died  on  the 
i gth  of  September,  meeting  the  "last  enemy"  like  a 
hero  and  a  Christian.  The  Queen  of  England  laid  her 
offering  upon  his  bier,  and,  forgetting  the  Empress  in 
the  woman,  spake  comfort  to  his  widow. 

Chester  A.  Arthur,  Vice-President,  succeeded  as 
President  of  the  United  States.  There  is  one  more 
incident  highly  honorable  to  England  and  the  United 
States,  and  a  portent  of  the  time  when  wars  shall 
cease,  which  must  not  be  forgotten.  The  two  great 
nations,  who  had  serious  questions  in  controversy, 
chose  in  the  Geneva  Conference  the  arbitrament  of 
peace ;  and  in  mutual  respect  and  friendliness  healed 
their  differences.  And  now,  with  no  border  or  other 
disputes  between  them,  the  English-speaking  people 
point  to  the  prosperous  Dominion  of  Canada,  and  the 
once  more  UNITED  States,  as  examples  of  the  way  in 
which  they  have  fulfilled  their  charge  among  the  Euro- 
pean races  who  have  possessions  in  the  New  World. 
In  some  parts  of  the  continent  defeated  leaders  in  rev- 
olution have  been  summarily  executed.  In  Canada 


442 


Stories  of  American  History. 


Papineau  and  many  of  his  companions,  in  the  rising 
of  1837,  were  restored  to  their  civil  rights,  and  even  to 
office.  In  the  United  States  late  Confederates  against 
the  Union  are  now  in  the  national  Congress.  Jeffer- 
son Davis  has  not  even  been  brought  to  trial,  and  is  left 
in  such  peace  as  he  can  find — to  his  own  reflections, 
such  as  they  may  be. 


1AMEOS  FROM  ENGLISH  HISTORY,  FROM  ROLLO 
TO  EDWARD  II.  By  CHARLOTTE  M.  YONGE.  12010.  Cloth, 
$1.00. 

"  The  '  Cameos  '  here  put  together  are  intended  as  a  book  for  young  people  just 
beyond  the  elementary  histories  of  England,  and  able  to  enter  in  some  degree  into  the 
real  spirit  of  events,  and  to  be  struck  with  characters  and  scenes  presented  in  some  re- 
lief. The  endeavor  has  not  been  to  chronicle  facts,  but  to  put  together  a  series  of  pic- 
tures of  persons  and  events,  so  as  to  arrest  the  attention  and  give  some  individuality 
and  distinctness  to  the  recollection,  by  gathering  together  details  of  the  most  mem- 
orable events." — From  the  Preface. 


]ISTORY  OF  FRANCE.  "  History  Primers,"  edited  by 
J.  R.  GREEX.  By  CHARLOTTE  M.  YONGE.  i8mo.  Cloth,  flexible 
covers,  45  cents. 


1USINGS  OVER  THE  "CHRISTIAN  YEAR,"  AND 
"LYRA  INNOCENTIUM,"  with  Gleanings  of  Recollections  of  the 
Rev.  John  Keble,  gathered  by  Several  Friends.  By  CHARLOTTE  M. 
YONGE.  i2mo.  Cloth,  $2.00. 

"The  'Christian  Year,' by  Rev.  John  Keble,  has  found  a  place  in  the  hearts  of 
pious  churchmen,  second  only  to  that  of  the  '  Pilgrim's  Progress  '  among  Christians 
generally.  It  consists  of  poems  on  all  the  church-days  of  the  year,  in  which  the  deepest 
thoughts  of  a  saint,  a  poet,  a  scholar,  and  a  pastor,  when  stirred  with  the  strongest 
feelings  both  of  Christian  and  of  man,  find  expression  ;  and  these  '  Musings  '  of  Miss 
Yonge  will  interest  every  admirer  of  that  famous  work.  In  a  series  of  annotations  on 
these  poems,  Miss  Yonge  has  sought  to  seize  and  express  the  subtle  meaning  of  the 
poet." 


'HE  CHRISTIAN  YEAR.  By  Rev.  JOHN  KEBLE. 
Printed  in  red  and  black,  with  Portrait  of  the  Author  from  G.  Rich- 
mond's Drawing.  ("  Parchment  Series.")  Choicely  printed  on  linen 
paper  and  bound  in  limp  parchment  antique.  l6mo.  $1.50. 

' '  The  edition  remains  the  best  extant  of  the  most  popular  of  English  devotional 
poets."— Pall  Mall  Gazette. 


New  York:    D.  APPLETON  &  CO.,  i,  3,  &s  Bond  Street. 


|OYS  IN  THE  MOUNTAINS  AND  ON  THE  PLAINS  ; 
OR,  THE  WESTERN  ADVENTURES  OF  TOM  SMART,  BOB 
EDGE,  AND  PETER  SMALL.  By  W.  H.  RIDEING,  Member  of 
the  Geographical  Surveys  under  Lieutenant  Wheeler.  With  One  Hun- 
dred and  One  Illustrations.  Square  8vo.  Cloth,  gilt  side  and  back, 
$2.50. 

"A  thoroughly  fine  book  for  boys  in  every  way — full  of  interest  and  exciting  ad- 
ventures, crammed  with  information,  physical  and  geographical,  of  the  great  West,  its 
new  life,  its  native  tribes,  its  abundant  animal  life,  its  vast  resources.  We  know  of  no 
other  book  in  which  all  these  matters  are  woven  together  in  so  attractive  a  form." — 
The  Churchman,  New  York. 

"The  three  boys  of  the  story,  which  is  not  a  compilation,  but  a  record  of  Mr. 
Rideing's  own  observations,  go  through  Colorado,  Utah,  and  California,  viewing  the 
mountains,  buttes,  cations,  and  lakes,  and  mixing  with  the  inhabitants  of  all  degrees 
of  wildness.  The  many  engravings  of  natural  scenery  are  copied  from  photographs." 
—  Cincinnati  Commercial. 

"  Mr.  William  H.  Rideing  has  contrived  to  combine  the  entertaining  and  the  in- 
structive, the  literature  of  travel  with  the  literature  of  geography,  in  '  Boys  in  the 
Mountains  and  on  the  Plains.'  It  is  a  story,  more  or  less,  in  which  the  adventures  of 
three  young  Americans  are  narrated  with  considerable  spirit,  and  with  an  accurate 
knowledge  of  the  localities  in  which  the  adventures  in  question  occur." — New  York 
Mail  and  Express. 


|HE  YOUNG  PEOPLE  OF  SHAKESPEARE'S  DRA- 
MAS. For  Youthful  Readers.  By  AMELIA  E.  BARR.  With  Illus- 
trations. I2mo.  Cloth,  $1.50. 

"  It  was  certainly  a  very  happy  thought  which  led  Mrs.  Barr  to  plan  and  execute 
this  excellent  book.  Shakespeare  has  been  drawn  upon  in  many  ways  and  by  many 
writers,  but  the  marshaling  in  line  of  his  young  people  for  the  sake  of  young  readers 
is,  if  we  are  not  mistaken,  breaking  ground  in  a  new  direction.  These  children  of 
Shakespeare  have  each  of-  them  something  of  the  genius  of  their  father,  and  to  know 
them  is  to  know  something  of  the  greatest  mind  in  English  literature ;  such  an  ac- 
quaintance can  not  be  made  too  early  or  become  too  intimate,  and  if  Mrs.  Barr's  attract- 
ive book  shall  serve  to  interest  young  readers  in  the  great  dramatist,  she  will  have  per- 
formed a  task  cf  the  most  useful  and  beneficent  kind." — New  York  Christian  Union. 

This  work  consists  of  scenes  selected  from  Shakespeare's  plays,  in  which  youthful 
characters  appear,  accompanied  with  explanatory  comments,  and  following  each  selec- 
tion is  an  historic  sketch,  enabling  the  reader  to  compare  the  historical  facts  with  the 
Shakespearean  version.  It  is  well  calculated  to  please  young  readers. 

"A  happy  thought  inspired  the  task,  and  it  is  a  source  for  congratulation  that  it  was 
undertaken  by  one  who  has  performed  it  in  a  spirit  of  such  thoughtful  and  intelligent 
sympathy  with  the  subject." — Boston  Gazette. 


New  York :  D.  APPLETON  &  CO.,  I,  3,  &  5  Bond  Street. 


WORLD  OF  WONDERS;  OR,  MARVELS  IN  ANI- 
MATE AND  INANIMATE  NATURE.  A  Book  for  Young  Read- 
ers. With  Three  Hundred  and  Twenty-two  Illustrations  on  Wood. 
Large  I2mo.  Cloth,  illuminated,  $2.00. 

CONTENTS  :  Wonders  in  Marine  Life  ;  Curiosities  of  Vegetable  Life  ;  Curiosities  of 
the  Insect  and  Reptile  World ;  Marvels  of  Bird  and  Beast  Life ;  Phenomenal  Forces 
of  Nature. 

"  '  A  World  of  Wonders '  reproduces  for  youthful  learners  in  natural  history  a  wide 
array  of  marvels  from  every  department  of  the  science.  The  curious  growths  of  the 
seas  and  rivers,  remarkable  plants,  and  wonderful  trees  ;  singular  insects  and  their  still 
more  singular  instincts ;  birds  of  strange  form  and  plumage  ;  serpents  and  reptiles ; 
striking  phenomena  of  the  air  and  water,  ice  and  fire,  are  all  set  forth  with  brief  and 
simple  descriptions  and  an  abundance  of  excellent  pictures  which  will  take  the  attention 
of  the  most  indifferent." — Home  Journal. 


JOMESPUN    STORIES.     By  ASCOTT  R.  HOPE,  author  of 

"Stories   of  Young  Adventurers,"    "Stories   of  W'hitminster,"    "A 
Book  of  Boyhoods,"  etc.     With  Illustrations.     i6mo.     Cloth,  $1.25. 

"  The  stories  are  capital  and  capitally  told." — Springfield  Republican. 

' '  Twelve  healthy  stories  for  boys  of  a  quality  superior  to  those  with  which  they  are 
familiar.  They  are  very  pleasing,  and  this  effect  is  secured  without  the  use  of  the  mar- 
velous and  strange,  but  by  ingenious  and  skillful  presentation  of  ordinary  incidents. 
The  author  has  an  art  of  his  own,  which  he  explains  in  an  introductory  essay  and 
afterward  well  exemplifies.  They  show  versatility  in  the  handling  of  subjects,  as  well  as 
a  pure  purpose  and  pure  means,  and  well  illustrate  how  quiet  enjoyment  in  reading  may 
be  made  attractive  and  satisfying,  with  understanding  of  requirements  and  skill  in 
meeting  them.  School-life,  the  Canadian  backwoods,  sea-life,  the  railway-train, 
France,  Scotland,  and  Ireland,  all  contribute  the  subjects  which,  wherever  located,  have 
agreeable  details  and  character,  although  the  author  is  in  his  best  vein  in  out-door  ac- 
tive action.  One  may  place  this  volume  in  the  hands  of  a  boy  and  be  sure  of  no  harm- 
ful influence,  but  of  good,  wholesome  entertainment.  It  is  a  model  in  this  respect." — 
Boston  Globe. 

;EAN  WONDERS.  A  Companion  for  the  Seaside.  By 
W.  E.  DAMON.  With  numerous  Illustrations.  I2mo.  Cheap  edition, 
75  cents. 

"  A  very  thorough  natural  history  study  of  ocean-life.  The  author  is  an  enthusiast 
in  his  gentle  pursuit,  and  these  pages  will  be  likely  to  infect  his  readers  with  his  own 
interest  in  it." — Hartford  Courant. 


New  York:   D.  APPLETON  &  CO.,  I,  3,  &  5  Bond  Street. 


|HE  WINNERS  IN  LIFE'S  RACE  ;  OR,  THE  GREAT 
BACKBONED  FAMILY.  By  ARABELLA  B.  BUCKLEY.  With  nu- 
merous Illustrations.  I2mo.  Cloth,  gilt,  $1.50. 

"  Although  the  present  volume,  as  giving  an  account  of  the  vertebrate  animals,  is  a 
natural  sequel  to,  and  a  completicn  of,  my  former  book,  '  Life  and  her  Children,'  which 
treated  of  invertebrates,  yet  it  is  a  more  independent  work,  both  in  plan  and  execution, 
than  I  had  at  first  contemplated.  ...  I  have  endeavored  to  describe  graphically  the 
early  history  of  the  backboned  animals,  so  far  as  it  is  yet  known  to  us,  keping  strictly 
to  such  broad  facts  as  ought  in  these  days  to  be  familiar  to  every  child  and  ordinarily 
well-educated  person,  if  they  are  to  have  any  true  conception  of  Natural  History.  At 
the  same  time  I  have  dwelt  as  fully  as  space  would  allow  upon  the  lives  of  such  modern 
animals  as  best  illustrate  the  present  divisions  of  the  vertebrates  upon  the  earth  ;  my 
object  being  rather  to  follow  the  tide  of  life,  and  sketch  in  broad  outline  how  structure 
and  habit  have  gone  hand  in  hand  in  filling  every  available  space  with  living  beings 
than  to  multiply  descriptions  of  the  various  species." — From  the  Preface. 

"  An  account  of  vertebrate  animals,  written  with  such  natural  spirit  and  vivacity, 
that  it  might  convert  even  a  literary  person  to  natural  science." — Saturday  Review. 

"  We  can  conceive  no  better  gift-book  than  this  volume.  Miss  Buckley  has  spared 
no  pains  to  incorporate  in  her  book  the  latest  results  of  scientific  research.  The  illus- 
trations in  the  book  deserve  the  highest  praise  ;  they  are  numerous,  accurate,  and 
striking." — London  Spectator. 

"  It  is  full  of  instructive  illustrations." — New  York  World. 


JIFE  AND  HER  CHILDREN.  Glimpses  of  Animal  Life 
from  the  Amoeba  to  the  Insects.  By  ARABELLA  B.  BUCKLEY.  With 
upward  of  One  Hundred  Illustrations.  I2mo.  Cloth,  $1.50. 

"  The  main  object  is  to  acquaint  young  people  with  the  structure  and  habits  of  the 
lower  forms  of  life  ;  and  to  do  this  in  a  more  systematic  way  than  is  usual  in  ordinary 
works  on  natural  history,  and  more  simply  than  in  text-books  on  zoology.  For  this 
reason  I  have  adopted  the  title,  '  Life  and  her  Children,'  to  express  the  family  bond 
uniting  all  living  things,  as  we  use  the  term  '  Nature  and  her  Works '  to  embrace  all 
organic  and  inorganic  phenomena ;  and  I  have  been  more  careful  to  sketch  in  bold 
outline  the  hading  features  of  each  division  than  to  dwell  on  the  minor  differences  by 
which  it  is  separated  into  groups." — From  the  Preface. 

"  This  volume,  conceived  in  a  very  happy  style,  imparting  information  in  a  pleasant 
manner,  embraces  a  wide  field  of  research,  and  the  author  deserves  great  credit  for  hav- 
ing made  what  is  generally  considered  as  a  complex  subject  plain  and  easy  to  under- 
stand. The  great  merit  of  a  book  of  this  character  is  that,  while  it  shapes  the  minds  of 
young  people  toward  an  appreciation  of  the  wonderful  forms  of  nature,  it  gives  to  the 
adult,  even  to  him  who  has  studied  such  things,  quite  a  comprehensive  view  of  all  the 
lower  forms  of  life.  Of  innumerable  books  of  this  character,  we  must  give  prefer- 
ence to  '  Life  and  her  Children.'  " — New  York  Times. , 


New  York :  D.  APPLETON  &  CO.,  I,  3,  &  5  Bond  Street. 


jHE    FAIRY   LAND   OF   SCIENCE.      By  ARABELLA  B. 
BUCKLEY.     With  numerous  Illustrations.     I2mo.     Cloth,  $1.50. 

"  So  interesting,  that,  having  once  opened  it,  we  do  not  know  how  to  leave  off  read- 
ing."— Saturday  Review. 

"Her  methods  of  presenting  certain  facts  and  phenomena  difficult  to  grasp  are 
most  original  and  striking,  and  admirably  calculated  to  enable  the  reader  to  realize  the 
truth.  AS  to  the  interest  of  her  story,  we  have  tested  it  in  a  youthful  subject,  and  she 
mentioned  it  in  the  same  breath  with  '  Grimm's  Fairy  Tales.'  .  .  .  The  book  abounds 
with  beautifully  engraved  and  thoroughly  appropriate  illustrations,  and  altogether  is 
one  of  the  most  successful  attempts  we  know  of  to  combine  the  dulce  with  the  tit  He. 
We  are  sure  any  of  the  elder  children  would  welcome  it  as  a  present ;  but  it  deserves 
to  take  a  permanent  place  in  the  literature  of  youth." — London  Times. 

"  A  child's  reading-book,  admirably  adapted  to  the  purpose  intended.  The  young 
reader  is  referred  to  nature  itself  rather  than  to  books,  and  is  taught  to  observe  and 
investigate,  and  not  to  rest  satisfied  with  a  collection  of  dull  definitions  learned  by  rote 
and  worthless  to  the  possessor.  The  present  work  will  be  found  a  valuable  and  inter- 
esting addition  to  the  somewhat  overcrowded  child's  library." — Boston  Gazette. 


IHORT  HISTORY  OF  NATURAL  SCIENCE  AND 
THE  PROGRESS  OF  DISCOVERY,  FROM  THE  TIME  OF 
THE  GREEKS  TO  THE  PRESENT  DAY.  For  Schools  and 
Young  Persons.  By  ARABELLA  B.  BUCKLEY.  With  Illustrations. 
I2mo.  Cloth,  $2.00. 

"  The  volume  is  attractive  as  a  book  of  anecdotes  of  men  of  science  and  their  dis- 
coveries. Its  remarkable  features  are  the  sound  judgment  with  which  the  true  land- 
marks of  scientific  history  are  selected,  the  conciseness  of  the  information  conveyed, 
and  the  interest  with  which  the  whole  subject  is  nevertheless  invested.  Its  style  is 
strictly  adapted  to  its  avowed  purpose  of  furnishing  a  text-bock  for  the  use  of  schools 
and  young  persons." — London  Daily  Nevas. 

"A  most  admirable  little  volume.  It  is  a  classified  resume  of  the  chief  discoveries 
in  physical  science.  To  the  young  student  it  is  a  book  to  open  up  new  worlds  with 
every  chapter. — London  Graphic. 

"  Miss  Buckley  supplies  in  the  present  volume  a  gap  in  our  educational  literature. 
Guides  to  literature  abound  ;  guides  to  science,  similar  in  purpose  and  character  to 
Miss  Buckley's  History,  are  unknown.  The  writer's  plan,  therefore,  is  original,  and 
her  execution  of  the  plan  is  altogether  admirable.  She  has  had  a  long  training  in 
science,  and  there  are  signs  on  every  page  of  this  volume  of  the  careful  and  conscien- 
tious manner  in  which  she  has  performed  her  task. " — Pall  Mall  Gazette. 


New  York:    D.  APPLETON  &  CO.,  i,  3,  &  5  Bond  Street. 


JNIMAL  INTELLIGENCE.  By  GEORGE  J.  ROMANES, 
F.  R.  S.,  Zoological  Secretary  of  the  Linnaean  Society.  ("  International 
Scientific  Series.")  I2mo.  Cloth,  $1.75. 

"  A  collection  of  facts  which,  though  it  may  merely  amuse  the  unscientific  reader, 
will  be  a  real  boon  to  the  student  of  comparative  psychology,  for  this  is  the  first  at- 
tempt to  present  systematically  the  well-assured  results  of  observation  on  the  mental 
life  of  animals. " — Saturday  Review. 

"The  high  standing  of  the  author  as  an  original  investigator  is  a  sufficient  guar- 
antee that  his  task  has  been  conscientiously  carried  out.  His  subject  is  one  of  absorb- 
ing interest.  He  has  collected  and  classified  an  enormous  amount  of  information  con- 
cerning the  mental  attributes  of  the  animal  world.  The  result  is  astonishing.  We 
find  marvelous  intelligence  exhibited  not  only  by  animals  which  are  known  to  be  clever, 
but  by  others  seemingly  without  a  glimmer  of  light,  like  the  snail,  for  instance.  Some 
animals  display  imagination,  others  affection,  and  so  on.  The  psychological  portion 
of  the  discussion  is  deeply  interesting." — New  York  Herald. 

"  Few  subjects  have  a  greater  fascination  for  the  general  reader  than  that  with 
which  this  book  is  occupied. — Good  Literature,  New  York. 


JACTS  AND  PHASES  OF  ANIMAL  LIFE,  Interspersed 
with  Amusing  and  Original  Anecdotes.  By  VERNON  S.  MORWOOD, 
Lecturer  to  the  Royal  Society  for  the  Prevention  of  Cruelty  to  Animals. 
With  Seventy-five  Illustrations.  I2mo.  Cloth,  gilt  side  and  back, 
$1.50. 

"'Facts  and  Phases  of  Animal  Life'  is  a  rare  book  in  the  natural  history  of  the 
more  common  animals,  and  of  a  character  very  desirable  for  circulation  to  promote 
knowledge  and  love  of  animals.  It  gives  wonderful  facts  about  animals  ;  tells  of  the 
structure  and  habits  of  those  at  the  bottom  of  the  sea,  in  ditches  and  horse-ponds  ;  of 
bees,  spinners,  and  weavers,  black  lodgers  and  miniature  scavengers ;  insects  in  livery 
and  tiny  boat-builders ;  birds  of  freedom,  feathered  laborers,  bird  homes  and  family 
ties,  bird  singers,  fowls  ;  miners  of  the  soil,  active  workers  with  long  tails  and  prickly 
coats,  etc.,  etc.  It  is  well  written  and  is  very  complete  in  its  facts,  quite  sufficiently  so 
for  an  introduction  to  the  study  of  natural  history,  or  for  the  general  reader." 


|OYS  AND  GIRLS  IN  BIOLOGY;  OR,  THE  SIMPLE 
STUDIES  OF  THE  LOWER  FORMS  OF  LIFE.  Based  upon  the 
Lectures  of  Professor  T.  H.  Huxley,  and  published  by  his  permission. 
By  SARAH  HACKETT  STEVENSON.  With  One  Hundred  and  Fifty-one 
Illustrations  by  Miss  M.  A.  J.  Macomish.  I2mo.  Cloth,  $I-SO- 

"  Originally  written  in  the  form  of  letters  from  England  to  my  little  nephew  in 
America,  but  by  a  subsequent  modification  the  work  assumed  its  present  form  of  sci- 
entific talks  with  boys  and  girls." — From  the  Preface. 


New  York:  D.  APPLETON  &  CO.,  I,  3,  &  5  Bond  Street. 


Yonge  - 


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UC  SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 


